Graustark

/

GEORGE BARK McCuxciiEuN

GRAUSTARK

BY
GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK

CHARLES SCRIBNER S SONS
1916

COPYRI GHT, 1901, BY
HERBERT S. STONE & CO.

PS

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I MR. GRENFALL LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 1

II Two STRANGERS IN A COACH 18

III MlSS GUGGENSLOCKER 34

IV THE INVITATION EXTENDED 55
V SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE 70

VI GRAUSTARK 84

VII THE LADY IN THE CARRIAGE 103

VIII THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS 115

IX THE EXPLOIT OF LORRY AND ANGUISH 131

X YETIVE 141

XI LOVE IN A CASTLE 157

XII A WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 168

XIII UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY 179

XIV THE EPISODE OF THE THRONE ROOM 195
XV THE BETROTHAL 206

XVI A CLASH AND ITS RESULT 220

XVII IN THE TOWER 234

XVIII THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT 246

XIX THE SOLDIER 261

XX THE APPROACHING ORDEAL 277

XXI FROM A WINDOW ABOVE 291

XXII GRENFALL LORRY S FOE 304

XXIII THE VISITOR AT MIDNIGHT 312

XXIV OFF TO THE DUNGEON 325
XXV " BECAUSE I LOVE HIM " 335

XXVI THE GUESSING OF ANGUISH 349

XXVII ON THE BALCONY AGAIN 358

XXVIII THE MAID OF GRAUSTARK 369

2C47GGO

ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of the Author Frontispiece

" I m sorry you are the princess " Facing page 144

"It is my will" " " 160

" Graustark welcomes the American

prince" 198

" Good-bye, my American " 204

Two s company, three s a crowd " 222

" You dog, I ll kill you for that " < * 326

" He is my prisoner. He dies who dares

to touch him" " " 350

GRAUSTARK

MR. GRENFALL LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE

Mr. Grenfall Lorry boarded the east-bound ex
press at Denver with all the air of a martyr. He
had traveled pretty much all over the world, and
he was not without resources, but the prospect of
a twenty-five hundred mile journey alone filled him
with dismay. The country he knew; the scenery
had long since lost its attractions for him; count
less newsboys had failed to tempt him with the lit
erature they thrust in his face, and as for his fel
low-passengers well, he preferred to be alone. And
so it was that he gloomily motioned the porter to
his boxes and mounted the steps with weariness.

As it happened, Mr. Grenfall Lorry did not have
a dull moment after the train started. He stumbled
on a figure that leaned toward the window in the
dark passageway. With reluctant civility he apolo
gized ; a lady stood up to let him pass, and for an
instant in the half light their eyes met, and that is
why the miles rushed by with incredible speed.

1

2 GRAUSTARK

Mr. Lorry had been dawdling away the months
in Mexico and California. For years he had felt,
together with many other people, that a sea-voyage
was the essential beginning of every journey; he
had started round the world soon after leaving
Cambridge; he had fished through Norway and
hunted in India, and shot everything from grouse
on the Scottish moors to the rapids above Assouan.
He had run in and out of countless towns and coun
tries on the coast of South America ; he had done
Russia and the Rhone valley and Brittany and Da
mascus ; he had seen them all but not until then
did it occur to him that there might be something of
interest nearer home. True he had thought of join
ing some Englishmen on a hunting tour in the
Rockies, but that had fallen through. When the
idea of Mexico did occur to him he gave orders to
pack his things, purchased interminable green tick
ets, dined unusually well at his club, and was off in
no time to the unknown West.

There was a theory in his family that it would
have been a decenter thing for him to stop running
about and settle down to work. But his thoughtful
father had given him a wealthy mother, and as earn
ing a living was not a necessity, he failed to see why
it was a duty. " Work is becoming to some men,"
he once declared, " like whiskers or red ties, but it
docs not follow that all men can stand it." After
that the family found him " hopeless," and the argu
ment dropped.

He was just under thirty years, as good-looking-

MR. LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 3

as most men, with no one dependent upon him and
an income that had withstood both the Maison
Doree and a dahabeah on the Nile. He never tired
of seeing things and peoples and places. " There s
game to be found anywhere," he said, " only it s
sometimes out of season. If I had my way and
millions I should run a newspaper. Then all the
excitements would come to me. As it is I m poor,
and so I have to go all over the world after them."
This agreeable theory of life had worked well;
he was a little bored at times not because he had
seen too much, but because there were not more
things left to see. He had managed somehow to keep
his enthusiasms through everything and they made
life worth living. He felt, too, a certain elation
like a spirited horse at turning toward home, but
Washington had not much to offer him, and the
thrill did not last. His big bag and his hat-box
pasted over with foolish labels from continental
hotels were piled in the corner of his compart
ment, and he settled back in his seat with a pleasur
able sense of expectancy. The presence in the next
room of a very smart appearing young woman was
prominent in his consciousness. It gave him an un
easiness which was the beginning of delight. He
had seen her for only a second in the passageway,
but that second had made him hold himself a little
straighter. " Why is it," he wondered, " that some
girls make you stand like a footman the moment
you see them ? " Grenf all had been in love too many
times to think of marriage; his habit of mind was

4 GRAUSTARK

still general, and he classified women broadly. At
the same time he had a feeling that in this case
generalities did not apply well; there was something
about the girl that made him hesitate at labelling
her " Class A, or B, or Z." What it was he did not
know, but unaccountably she filled him with an
affected formality. He felt like bowing to her with
a grand air and much dignity. And yet he realized
that his successes had come from confidence.

At luncheon he saw her in the dining-car. Her
companions were elderly persons presumably her
parents. They talked mostly in French occasion
ally using a German word or phrase. The old gen
tleman was stately and austere with an air of def
erence to the young woman which Grenfall did not
understand. His appearance was very striking;
his face pale and heavily lined; moustache and
imperial gray; the eyebrows large and bushy, and
the jaw and chin square and firm. The white-
haired lady carried her head high with unmistakable
gentility. They were all dressed in traveling
suits which suggested something foreign, but not
Vienna nor Paris ; smart, but far from American
tastes.

Lorry watched the trio with great interest. Twice
during luncheon the young woman glanced toward
him carelessly and left an annoying impression that
she had not seen him. As they left the table and
passed into the observation car, he stared at her
with some defiance. But she was smiling, and her
dimples showed, and Grenfall was ashamed. For

MR. LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 5

some moments he sat gazing from the car window
forgetting his luncheon dreaming.

When he got back to his compartment he rang
vigorously for the porter. A coin was carelessly
displayed in his fingers. " Do you suppose you could
find out who has the next compartment, porter?"

" I don t know their name, suh, but they s goin
to New York jis as fas as they can git thuh. I ain
ax um no questions, cause thuh s somethin bout um
makes me feel s if I ain got no right to look at um
even."

The porter thought a moment.

" I don believe it ll do yuh any good, suh, to try
to shine up to tha young lady. She ain the sawt,
I can tell yuh that. I done see too many guhls in
ma time "

" What are you talking about ? I am not trying to
shine up to her. I only want to know who she is
just out of curiosity." Grenfall s face was a trifle
red.

** Beg pahdon, suh ; but I kind o* thought you was
like oth gent men when they see a han some woman.
Allus wants to fin out somethin bout huh, suh, yuh
know. Scuse me foh misjedgin yuh, suh. Th lady
in question is a foh ner she lives across th ocean,
s fuh as I can fin out. They s in a hurry to git
home foh some reason, cause they ain goin to stop
this side o New York, cept to change cahs."

" Where do they change cars ? "

" St. Louis goin by way of Cincinnati an Wash-
in ton."

6 GRAUSTARK

Grcnfall s ticket carried him by way of Chicago.
He cnught himself wondering if he could exchange
his ticket in St. Louis.

" Traveling with her father and mother, I sup
pose? "

" No, suh ; they s huh uncle and aunt. I hcah huh
call em uncle an aunt. Th ole gent man is Uncle
Caspar. I don know what they talk bout. It s
mostly some foh en language. Th young lady allus
speaks Amehican to me, but th old folks cain t talk
it ver well. They all been to Frisco, an the hired
he p they s got with cm say they been to Mexico,
too. Th young lady s got good Amehican dollahs,
don care wha she s been. She allus smiles when
she ask me to do anythin , an I wouldn care if she
nevah tipped me, s long as she smiles thatawaj."

" Servants with them, you say ? "

" Yas, suh ; man an woman, nex section t other
side of ole folks. Can t say mor n fifteen words in
Amehican. Th woman is huh maid, an the man
he s the gen ral hustler for th hull pahty."

" And you don t know her name? "

" No, suh, an I cain t ver well fin out."

" In what part of Europe does she live? "

" Australia, I think, suh."

" You mean Austria."

"Do I? Scuse ma ig nance. I was jis gucssin*
at it anyhow; one place s as good as nother ovah
thuh, I reckon."

" Have you one of those dollars she gave you ? "

" Yes, suh. Heh s a coin that ain Amehican, but

MR. LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 7

she says it s wuth seventy cents in our money. It s
a foh en piece. She tell me to keep it till I went
ovah to huh country; then I could have a high time
with it that s what she says a high time an*
smiled kind o knowin like."

" Let me see that coin," said Lorry eagerly taking
the silver piece from the porter s hand. " I never
saw one like it before. Greek, it looks to me, but I
can t make a thing out of these letters. She gave it
to you?"

" Yas, suh las evenin . A high time on seventy
cents. That s reediculous, ain it?" demanded the
porter scornfully.

" I ll give you a dollar for it. You can have a
higher time on that."

The odd little coin changed owners immediately,
and the new possessor dropped it into his pocket
with the inward conviction that he was the silliest
fool in existence. After the porter s departure he
took the coin from his pocket, and with his back to
the door, his face to the window, studied its lettering.

During the afternoon he strolled about the train,
his hand constantly jingling the coins. He passed
her compartment several times, yet refrained from
looking in. But he wondered if she saw him pass.

At one little station a group of Indian bear hunt
ers created considerable interest among the passen
gers. Grenfall was down at the station platform at
once, looking over a great stack of game. As he
left the car he met Uncle Caspar, who was hurrying
toward his niece s section. A few moments later

8 GllAUSTARK

she came down the steps, followed by the dignified
old gentleman. Grenfall tingled with a strange de
light as she moved quite close to his side in her
desire to see. Once he glanced at her face; there
was a pretty look of fear in her eyes as she sur
veyed the massive bears and the stark, stiff ante
lopes. But she laughed as she turned away with
her uncle.

Grenfall was smoking his cigarette and vigorously
jingling the coins in his pocket when the train pulled
out. Then he swung on the car steps and found
himself at her feet. She was standing at the top,
where she had lingered a moment. There was an ex
pression of anxiety in her eyes as he looked up into
them, followed instantly by one of relief. Then she
passed into the car. She had seen him swing upon
the moving steps and had feared for his safety
had shown in her glorious face that she was glad
he did not fall beneath the wheels. Doubtless she
would have been as solicitous had he been the porter
or the brakeman, he reasoned, but that she had
noticed him at all pleased him.

At Abilene he bought the Kansas City newspapers.
After breakfast he found a seat in the observation
car and settled himself to read. Presently some one
took a seat behind him. He did not look back, but
unconcernedly cast his eyes upon the broad mirror
in the opposite car wall. Instantly he forgot his
paper. She was sitting within five feet of him, a
book in her lap, her gaze bent briefly on the flitting
buildings outside. He studied the reflection fur-

MR. LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 9

tively until she took up the book and began to read.
Up to this time he had wondered why some non
sensical idiot had wasted looking-glasses on the walls
of a railway coach ; now he was thinking of him as a
far-sighted man.

The first page of his paper was fairly alive with
fresh and important dispatches, chiefly foreign. At
length, after allowing himself to become really in
terested in a Paris dispatch of some international
consequence, he turned his eyes again to the mirror.
She was leaning slightly forward, holding the open
book in her lap, but reading, with straining eyes, an
article in the paper he held.

He calmly turned to the next page and looked
leisurely over it. Another glance, quickly taken,
showed to him a disappointed frown on the pretty
face and a reluctant resumption of novel reading. A
few moments later he turned back to the first page,
holding the paper in such a position that she could
not see, and, full of curiosity, read every line of the
foreign news, wondering what had interested her.

Under ordinary circumstances Lorry would have
offered her the paper, and thought nothing more of
it. With her, however, there was an air that made
him hesitate. He felt strangely awkward and inex
perienced beside her, precedents did not seem to
count. He arose, tossed the paper over the back of
the chair as if casting it aside forever, and strolled
to the opposite window and looked out for a few
moments, jingling his coins carelessly. The jingle
of the pieces suggested something else to him. His

10 GRAUSTARK

paper still hung invitingly, upside down, as he had
left it, on the chair, and the lady was pouring over
her novel. As he passed her he drew his right hand
from his pocket and a piece of money dropped to
the floor at her feet. Then began an embarrassed
search for the coin in the wrong direction, of
course. He knew precisely where it had rolled, but
purposely looked under the seats on the other side
of the car. She drew her skirts aside and assisted
in the search. Four different times he saw the little
piece of money, but did not pick it up. Finally,
laughing awkwardly, he began to search on her side
of the car. Whereupon she rose and gave him more
room. She became interested in the search and bent
over to scan the dark corners with eager eyes. Their
heads were very close together more than once. At
last she uttered an exclamation, and her hand went
to the floor in triumph. They arose together, flushed
and smiling. She had the coin in her hand.

" I have it," she said, gaily, a delicious foreign
tinge to the words.

" I thank you " he began, holding out his hand

as if in a dream of ecstacy, but her eyes had fallen
momentarily on the object of their search.

" Oh ! " she exclaimed, the prettiest surprise in the
world coming into her face. It was a coin from
her faraway homeland, and she was betrayed into
the involuntary exclamation. Instantly, however,
she regained her composure and dropped the piece
into his outstretched hand, a proud flush mounting
to her cheek, a look of cold reserve to her eyes. He

MR. LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 11

had hoped she would offer some comment on what she
must have considered a strange coincidence, but he
was disappointed. He wondered if she even heard
him say:

" I am sorry to have troubled you."

She had resumed her seat, and, to him, there
seemed a thousand miles between them. Feeling de
cidedly uncomfortable and not a little abashed, he
left her and strode to the door. Again a mirror
gave him a thrill. This time it was the glass in the
car s end. He had taken but half a dozen steps
when the brown head was turned slyly and a pair
of interested eyes looked after him. She did not
know that he could see her, so he had the satisfac
tion of observing that pretty, puzzled face plainly
until he passed through the door.

Grenfall had formed many chance acquaintances
during his travels, sometimes taking risks and lib
erties that were refreshingly bold. He had seldom
been repulsed, strange to say, and as he went to his
section dizzily, he thought of the good fortune that
had been his in other attempts, and asked himself
why it had not occurred to him to make the same
advances in the present instance. Somehow she
was different. There was that strange dignity, that
pure beauty, that imperial manner, all combining to
forbid the faintest thought of familiarity.

He was more than astonished at himself for hav
ing tricked her a few moments before into a per
fectly natural departure from indifference. She had
boon so reserved and so natural that he looked back

12 GRAUSTARK

and asked himself what had happened to flatter his
vanity except a passing show of interest. With this,
he smiled and recalled similar opportunities in days
gone by, all of which had been turned to advantage
and had resulted in amusing pastimes. And here
was a pretty girl with an air of mystery about her,
worthy of his best efforts, but toward whom he had
not dared to turn a frivolous eye.

He took out the coin and leaned back in his chair,
wondering where it came from. " In any case," he
thought, " it ll make a good pocket-piece and some
day I ll find some idiot who knows more about
geography than I do." Mr. Lorry s own ideas of
geography were jumbled and vague as if he had
got them by studying the labels on his hat-box. He
knew the places he had been to, and he recognized
a new country by the annoyances of the customs
house, but beyond this his ignorance was complete.
The coin, so far as he knew, might have come from
an} one of a hundred small principalities scattered
about the continent. Yet it bothered him a little that
he could not tell which one. He was more than
curious about a very beautiful young woman in
fact, he was undeniably interested in her. He pleas
antly called himself an " ass " to have his head turned
by a pretty face, a foreign accent and an insignifi
cant coin, and yet he was fascinated.

Before the train reached St. Louis he made up his
mind to change cars there and go to Washington
with her. It also occurred to him that he might go
on to New York if the spell lasted. During the day

MR. LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 13

he telegraphed ahead for accommodations ; and when
the flyer arrived in St. Louis that evening he hur
riedly attended to the transferring and rechecking
of his baggage, bought a new ticket, and dined. At
eight he was in the station, and 8: 15 he passed her
in the aisle. She was standing in her stateroom
door, directing her maid. He saw a look of sur
prise flit across her face as he passed. He slept
soundly that night, and dreamed that he was cross
ing the ocean with her.

At breakfast he saw her, but if she saw him it
was when he was not looking at her. Once he caught
Uncle Caspar staring at him through his monocle,
which dropped instantly from his eye in the man
ner that is always self-explanatory. She had evi
dently called the uncle s attention to him, but was
herself looking sedately from the window when Lorry
unfortunately spoiled the scrutiny. His spirits took
a furious bound with the realization that she had
deigned to honor him by recognition, if only to call
attention to him because he possessed a certain coin.

Once the old gentleman asked him the time of
day and set his watch according to the reply. In
Ohio the man-servant scowled at him because he in
voluntarily stared after his mistress as she paced
the platform while the train waited at a station.
Again, in Ohio, they met in the vestibule, and he
was compelled to step aside to allow her to pass. He
did not feel particularly jubilant over this meeting;
she did not even glance at him.

Lorry realized that his opportunities were fast

14 GRAUSTARK

disappearing, and that he did not seem to be any
nearer meeting her than when they started. He had
hoped to get Uncle Caspar into a conversation and
then use him, but Uncle Caspar was as distant as an
iceberg. " If there should be a wreck," Grenfall
caught himself thinking, " then my chance would
come; but I don t see how Providence is going to
help me in any other way."

Near the close of the day, after they left St. Louis,
the train began to wind through the foothills of the
Alleghenies. Bellairc, Grafton and other towns were
left behind, and they were soon whirling up the steep
mountain, higher and higher, through tunnel after
tunnel, nearer and nearer to Washington every min
ute. As they were pulling out of a little mining
town built on the mountain side, a sudden jar stopped
the train. There was some little excitement and a
scramble for information. Some part of the engine
was disabled, and it would be necessary to replace it
before the " run " could proceed.

Lorry strolled up to the crowd of passengers who
were watching the engineer and fireman at work. A
clear, musical voice, almost in his ear, startled him,
for he knew to whom it belonged. She addressed
the conductor, who, impatient and annoyed, stood
immediately behind him.

"How long are we to be delayed?" she asked.
Just two minutes before this same conductor had
responded most ungraciously to a simple question
Lorry had asked and had gone so far as to instruct
another inquisitive traveler to go to a warmer cli-

MR. LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 15

mate because he persisted in asking for information
which could not be given except by a clairvoyant.
But now he answered in most affable tones :

" We ll be here for thirty minutes at least, Miss
perhaps longer."

She walked away, after thanking him, and Gren-
fall looked at his watch.

Off the main street of the town ran little lanes
leading to the mines below. They all ended at the
edge of a steep declivity. There was a drop of al
most four hundred feet straight into the valley be
low. Along the sides of this valley were the en
trances to the mines. Above, on the ledge, was the
machinery for lifting the ore to the high ground on
which stood the town and railroad yards.

Down one of these street walked a young lady,
curiously interested in all about her. She seemed
glad to escape from the train and its people, and she
hurried along, the fresh spring wind blowing her
hair from beneath her cap, the ends of her long
coat fluttering.

Lorry stood on the platform watching her; then
he lighted a cigarette and followed. He had a vague
feeling that she ought not to be alone with all the
workmen. She started to come back before he
reached her, however, and he turned again toward
the station. Then he heard a sudden whistle, and
a minute later from the end of the street he saw
the train pulling out. Lorry had rather distin
guished himself in college as a runner, and instinct
ively he dashed up the street, reaching the tracks

16 GRAUSTARK

just in time to catch the railing of the last coach.
But there he stopped and stood with thumping heart
while the coaches slid smoothly up the track, leaving
him behind. He remembered that he was not the
only one left, and he panted and smiled. It occurred
to him when it was too late that he might have
got on the train and pulled the rope or called the
conductor, but that was out of the question now.
After all, it might not be such a merry game to stay
in that filthy little town; it did not follow that she
would prove friendly.

A few moments later she appeard wholly un
conscious of what had happened. A glance down
the track and her face was the picture of despair.

Then she saw him coming toward her with long
strides, flushed and excited. Regardless of appear
ances, conditions or consequences, she hurried to
meet him.

" Where is the train? " she gasped, as the distance
between them grew short, her blue eyes seeking his
beseechingly, her hands clasped.

" It has gone."

"Gone? And we we are left?"

He nodded, delighted by the word " we."

" The conductor said thirty minutes ; it has been
but twenty," she cried, half tearfully, half angrily,
looking at her watch. Oh, what shall I do? " she
went on, distractedly. He had enjoyed the sweet,
despairing tones, but this last wail called for manly
and instant action.

" Can we catch the train? We must! I will give

MR. LORRY SEEKS ADVENTURE 17

one thousand dollars. I must catch it." She had
placed her gloved hand against a telegraph pole to
steady her trembling, but her face was resolute, im
perious, commanding. She was ordering him to obey
as she would have commanded a slave. In her voice
there was authority, in her eye there was fear. She
could control the one but not the other.

" We cannot catch the flyer. I want to catch it
as much as you and " here he straightened him
self " I would add a thousand to yours." He hesi
tated a moment thinking. " There is but one way,
and no time to lose."

With this he turned and ran rapidly toward the
little depot and telegraph office.

ri

TWO STRANGERS IN A COACH

Lorry wasted very little time. He dashed into the
depot and up to the operator s window.

" What s the nearest station east of here? "

" P ," leisurely answered the agent, in some

surprise.

"How far is H?"

" Four miles."

" Telegraph ahead and hold the train that just
left here."

" The train don t stop there."

" It s got to stop there or there ll be more trouble
than this road has had since it began business. The
conductor pulled out and left two of his passengers
gave out wrong information, and he ll have to
hold his train there or bring her back here. If you
don t send that order I ll report you as well as the
conductor." GrenfalPs manner was commanding.
The agent s impression was that he was important
that he had a right to give orders. But he hesitated.

" There s no way for you to get to P - any
way," he said, while turning the matter over in his
mind.

" You stop that train ! I ll get there inside of
18

TWO STRANGERS IN A COACH 19

twenty minutes. Now, be quick! Wire them to
hold her or there ll be an order from headquarters
for some ninety-day lay-offs." The agent stared at
him ; then turned to his instrument, and the mes
sage went forward. Lorry rushed out. On the
platform he nearly ran over the hurrying figure in
the tan coat.

" Pardon me. I ll explain things in a minute," he
gasped and dashed away. Her troubled eyes blinked
with astonishment.

At the end of the platform stood a mountain
coach, along the sides of which was printed in yellow
letters : " Happy Springs." The driver was climb
ing up to his scat and the cumbersome trap was
empty.

" Want to make ten dollars? " cried Grenfall.

" What say? " demanded the driver, half falling to
the ground.

" Get me to P inside of twenty minutes, and

I ll give you ten dollars. Hurry up ! Answer ! "

" Yes, but, you see, I m hired to "

" Oh, that s all right ! You ll never make money
easier. Can you get us there in twenty minutes? "

" It s four mile, pardner, and not very good road,
either. Pile in, and we ll make it er kill old Hip and
Jim. Miss the train? "

" Get yourself ready for a race with an express
train and don t ask questions. Kill em both if you
have to. I ll be back in a second ! "

Back to the station he tore. She was standing
near the door, looking up the track miserably. Al-

20 GRAUSTARK

ready night was falling. Men were lighting the
switch lanterns and the mountains were turning into
great dark shadows.

" Come quickly ; I have a wagon out here."

Resistlcssly she was hurried along and fairly
shoved through the open door of the odd-looking
coach. He was beside her on the seat in an instant,
and her bewildered ears heard him say:

" Drive like the very deuce ! " Then the door
slammed, the driver clattered up to his seat, and the
horses were off with a rush.

" Where are we going? " she demanded, sitting
very straight and defiant.

" After that train. I ll tell you all about it when
I get my breath. This is to be the quickest escape
from a dilemma on record providing it is an es
cape." By this time they were bumping along the
flinty road at a lively rate, jolting about on the seat
in a most disconcerting manner. After a few long,
deep breaths he told her how the ride in the Springs
hack had been conceived and of the arrangement he
had made with the despatcher. He furthermore ac
quainted her with the cause of his being left when he
might have caught the train.

" Just as I reached the track, out of breath but re
joicing, I remembered having seen you on that side
street, and knew that you would be left. It would
have been heartless to leave you here without protec
tion, so I felt it my duty to let the train go and help
you out of a very ugly predicament."

" How can I ever repay you? " she murmured. " It

TWO STRANGERS IN A COACH 21

was so good and so thoughtful of you. Oh, I should
have died had I been left alone. Do you not think
my uncle will miss me and have the train sent back? "
she went on, sagely.

" That s so ! " he exclaimed, somewhat disconcerted.
" But I don t know, either. He may not miss you
for a long time, thinking you are in some other
car, you know. That could easily happen," trium
phantly.

" Can this man get us to the next station in time? "
she questioned, looking at the black mountains and
the dense foliage. It was now quite dark.

" If he doesn t bump us to death before we get
half way there. He s driving like the wind."

" You must let me pay half his bill," she said, de
cidedly, from the dark corner in which she was hud
dling.

He could find no response to this peremptory re
quest.

" The road is growing rougher. If you will allow
me to make a suggestion, I think you will see its wis
dom. You can escape a great deal of ugly jost
ling if you will take hold of my arm and cling to it
tightly. I will brace myself with this strap. I am
sure it will save you many hard bumps."

Without a word she moved to his side and wound
her strong little arm about his big one.

" I had thought of that," she said, simply.
" Thank you." Then, after a moment, while his
heart thumped madly : " Had it occurred to you
that after you ran so hard you might have climbed

22 GRAUSTARK

aboard the train and ordered the conductor to stop
it for me? "

" I I never thought of that ! " he cried confusedly.

" Please do not think me ungrateful. You have
been very good to me, a stranger. One often thinks
afterward of things one might have done, don t you
know? You did the noblest when you inconveni
enced yourself for me. What trouble I have made
for you." She said this so prettily that he came
gaily from the despondency into which her shrewd
ness, bordering on criticism, had thrown him. He
knew perfectly well that she was questioning his
judgment and presence of mind, and, the more he
thought of it, the more transparent became the
absurdity of his action.

" It has been no trouble," he floundered. " An ad
venture like this is worth no end of er inconveni
ence, as you call it. I m sure I must have lost my
head completely, and I am ashamed of myself. How
much anxiety I could have saved you had I been pos
sessed of an ounce of brains ! "

" Hush ! I will not allow you to say that. You
would have me appear ungrateful when I certainly
am not. Ach, how he is driving! Do you think it
dangerous? " she cried, as the hack gave two or three
wild lurches, throwing him into the corner, and the
girl half upon him.

" Not in the least," he gasped, the breath knocked
out of his body. Just the same, he was very much
alarmed. It was as dark as pitch outside and in, and
he could not help wondering how near the edge of

TWO STRANGERS IN A COACH 23

the mountain side they were running. A false move
of the flying horses and they might go rolling to the
bottom of the ravine, hundreds of feet below. Still,
he must not let her see his apprehension. " This fel
low is considered the best driver in the mountains,"
he prevaricated. Just then he remembered having
detected liquor on the man s breath as he closed the
door behind him. Perhaps he was intoxicated !

"Do you know him? " questioned the clear voice,
her lips close to his ear, her warm body pressing
against his.

" Perfectly. He is no other than Light-horse
Jerry, the king of stage drivers." In the darkness he
smiled to himself maliciously.

" Oh, then we need fear no alarm," she said, re
assured, not knowing that Jerry existed only in the
yellow-backed novel her informant had read when
a boy.

There was such a roaring and clattering that con
versation became almost impossible. When either
spoke it was with the mouth close to the ear of the
other. At such times Grenfall could feel her breath
on his cheek. Her sweet voice went tingling to his
toes with every word she uttered. He was in a daze,
out of which sung the mad wish that he might clasp
her in his arms, kiss her, and then go tumbling down
the mountain. She trembled in the next fierce lurches,
but gave forth no complaint. He knew that she was
in terror but too brave to murmur.

Unable to resist, he released the strap to which he
had clung so grimly, and placed his strong, firm

24 GRAUSTARK

hand encouragingly over the little one that gripped
his arm with the clutch of death. It was very dark
and very lonely, too.

" Oh ! " she cried, as his hand clasped hers. " You
must hold to the strap."

" It is broken ! " he lied, gladly. " There is no dan
ger. See! My hand does not tremble, does it? Be
calm ! It cannot be much farther."

" Will it not be dreadful if the conductor refuses
to stop? " she cried, her hand resting calmly beneath
its protector. He detected a tone of security in her
voice.

" But he will stop ! Your uncle will see to that,
even if the operator fails."

" My uncle will kill him if he docs not stop or
come back for me," she said, complacently.

" I was not wrong," thought Grenfall ; " he looks
like a duelist. Who the devil are they, anyhow? "
Then aloud : " At this rate we d be able to beat the
train to Washington in a straight-away race. Isn t
it a delightfully wild ride ? "

" I have acquired a great deal of knowledge in
America, but this is the first time I have heard your
definition of delight. I agree that it is wild."

For some moments there was silence in the noisy
conveyance. Outside, the crack of the driver s whip,
his hoarse cries, and the nerve-destroying crash of
the wheels produced impressions of a mighty storm
rather than of peace and pleasure.

" I am curious to know where you obtained the
coin you lost in the car yesterday," she said at last,

as if relieving her mind of a question that had been
long subdued.

" The one you so kindly found for me? " he asked,
procrastinatingly.

" Yes. They are certainly rare in this coun-
try."

" I never saw a coin like it until after I had seen
you," he confessed. He felt her arm press his a
little tighter, and there was a quick movement of her
head which told him, dark as it was, that she was
trying to see his face and that her blue eyes were
wide with something more than terror.

" I do not understand," she exclaimed.

" I obtained the coin from a sleeping-car porter
who said some one gave it to him and told him to
have a high time with it," he explained in her
ear.

" He evidently did not care for the * high time,
she said, after a moment. He would have given a
fortune for one glimpse of her face at that in
stant.

" I think he said it would be necessary to go to
Europe in order to follow the injunction of the
donor. As I am more likely to go to Europe than
he, I relieved him of the necessity and bought his
right to a high time.

There was a long pause, during which she at
tempted to withdraw herself from his side, her little
fingers struggling timidly beneath the big ones.

"Are you a collector of coins?" she asked at
length, a perceptible coldness in her voice.

26 GRAUSTARK

" No. I am considered a dispenser of coins. Still,
I rather like the idea of possessing this queer bit of
money as a pocket-piece. I intend to keep it for
ever, and let it descend as an heirloom to the gen
erations that follow me," he said, laughingly. " Why
are you so curious about it? "

" Because it comes from the city and country in
which I live," she responded. " If you were in a
land far from your own would you not be inter
ested in anything even a coin that reminded you
of home?"

" Especially if I had not seen one of its kind since
leaving home," he replied, insinuatingly.

" Oh, but I have seen many like it. In my purse
there are several at this minute."

" Isn t it strange that this particular coin should
have reminded you of home? "

" You have no right to question me, sir," she said,
coldly, drawing away, only to be lurched back again.
In spite of herself she laughed audibly.

" I beg your pardon," he said, tantalizingly.

" When did he give it to you? "

"Who?"

" The porter, sir."

" You have no right to question me," he said.

" Oh ! " she gasped. " I did not mean to be inquisi
tive."

" But I grant the right. He gave it me inside of
two hours after I first entered the car."

"At Denver?"

" How do you know I got on at Denver? "

TWO STRANGERS IN A COACH 27

" Why, you passed me in the aisle with your lug
gage. Don t you remember? "

Did he remember ! His heart almost turned over
with the joy of knowing that she had really noticed
and remembered him. Involuntarily his glad fingers
closed down upon the gloved hand that lay beneath
them.

" I believe I do remember, now that you speak of
it," he said, in a stifled voice. " You were standing
at a window ? "

" Yes ; and I saw you kissing those ladies good
bye, too. Was one of them your wife, or were they
all your sisters? I have wondered."

" They they were cousins," he informed her,
confusedly, recalling an incident that had been for
gotten. He had kissed Mary Lyons and Edna Bur-
rage but their brothers were present. " A foolish
habit, isn t it? "

" I do not know. I have no grown cousins," she
replied, demurely. " You Americans have such f unnj
customs, though. Where I live, no gentleman would
think of pressing a lady s hand until it pained her.
Is it necessary? " In the question there was a quiet
dignity, half submerged in scorn, so pointed, so un
mistakable that he flushed, turned cold with mor
tification, and hastily removed the amorous fin
gers.

" I crave your pardon. It is such a strain to hold
myself and you against the rolling of this wagon that
I unconsciously gripped your hand harder than I
knew. You you will not misunderstand my mo-

28 GRAUSTARK

tive? " he begged, fearful lest he had offended her by
his ruthlessness.

" I could not misunderstand something that does
not exist," she said, simply, proudly.

" By Jove, she s beyond comparison ! " he thought.

" You have explained, and I am sorry I spoke as
I aid. I shall not again forget how much I owe
you."

" Your indebtedness, if there be one, does not de
prive you of the liberty to speak to me as you will.
You could not say anything unjust without asking
my forgiveness, and when you do that you more
than pay the debt. It is worth a great deal to me
to hear you say that you owe something to me, for
I am only too glad to be your creditor. If there is
a debt, you shall never pay it; it is too pleasant an
account to be settled with * you re welcome. If you
insist that you owe much to me, I shall refuse to
cancel the debt, and allow it to draw interest for
ever."

" What a financier! " she cried. " That jest was
worthy of a courtier s deepest flattery. Let me say
that I am proud to owe my gratitude to you. You
will not permit it to grow less."

" That was either irony or the prettiest speech a
woman ever uttered," he said, warmly. " I also am
curious about something. You were reading over
my shoulder in the observation car

" I was not ! " she exclaimed, indignantly. " How
did you know that? " she inconsistently went on.

" You forget the mirror on the opposite side of the
car."

TWO STRANGERS IN A COACH 29

" Ach, now I am offended."

"With a poor old mirror? For shame! Yet, in
the name of our American glass industry, I ask your
forgiveness. It shall not happen again. You will
admit that you were trying to read over my shoulder.
Thanks for that immutable nod. Well, I am curious
to know what you were so eager to read."

" Since you presume to believe the mirror instead
of me, I will tell you. There was a despatch on the
first page that interested me deeply."

" I believe I thought as much at the time. Oh,
confound this road ! " For half a mile or more the
road had been fairly level, but, as the ejaculation in
dicates, a rough place had been reached. He was
flung back in the corner violently, his head coming
in contact with a sharp projection of some kind. The
pain was almost unbearable, but it was eased by the
fact that she had involuntarily thrown her arm
across his chest, her hand grasping his shoulder
spasmodically.

" Oh, we shall be killed ! " she half shrieked. " Can
you not stop him? This is madness madness ! "

" Pray be calm ! I was to blame, for I had become
careless. He is earning his money, that s all. It
was not stipulated in the contract that he was to
consider the comfort of his passengers." Grenfail
could feel himself turn pale as something warm
began to trickle down his neck. " Now tell me which
despatch it was. I read all of them."

" You did ? Of what interest could they have
been? "

30 GRAUSTARK

" Curiosity docs not recognize reason."

" You read every one of them? "

" Assuredly."

" Then I shall grant you the right to guess which
interested me the most. You Americans delight in
pu/zles, I am told."

" Now, that is unfair."

" So it is. Did you read the despatch from Con
stantinople? " Her arm fell to her side suddenly as if
she had just realized its position.

" The one that told of the French ambassador s
visit to the Sultan?"

" Concerning the small matter of a loan of some
millions Yes. Well, that was of interest to me, in
asmuch -as the loan, if made, will affect my coun
try."

" Will you tell me what country you are from? "

" I am from Graustark."

" Yes ; but I don t remember where that is."

" Is it possible that your American schools do not
teach geography? Ours tell us where the United
States are located."

" I confess ignorance," he admitted.

" Then I shall insist that you study a map. Grau
stark is small, but I am as proud of it as you are of
this great broad country that reaches from ocean to
ocean. I can scarcely wait until I again see our dear
crags and valleys, our rivers and ever-blue skies, our
plains and our towns. I wonder if you worship your
country as I love mine."

" From the tenor of your remarks, I judge that

TWO STRANGERS IN A COACH 31

you have been away from home for a long time," he
volunteered.

" We have seen something of Asia, Australia,
Mexico and the United States since we left Edel
weiss, six months ago. Now we are going home
home ! " She uttered the words so lovingly, so long
ingly, so tenderly, that he envied the homeland.

There was a long break in the conversation, both
evidently wrapped in thought which could not be
disturbed by the whirl of the coach. He was won
dering how he could give her up, now that she had
been tossed into his keeping so strangely. She was
asking herself over and over again how so thrilling
an adventure would end.

They were sore and fatigued with the strain on
nerve and flesh. It was an experience never to be
forgotten, this romantic race over the wild moun
tain road, the result still in doubt. Ten minutes
ago strangers ; now friends at least, neither
knowing the other. She was admiring him for his
generalship, his wonderful energy; he was blessing
the fate that had come to his rescue when hope was
almost dead. He could scarcely realize that he was
awake. Could it be an}^thing but a vivid fancy from
which he was to awaken and find himself alone in
his berth, the buzzing, clacking car-wheels piercing
his ears with sounds so unlike those that had been
whispered into them by a voice, sweet and madden
ing, from out of the darkness of a dreamland cab?

" Surely we must be almost at the end of this
awful ride," she moaned, yielding completely to the

32 GRAUSTARK

long suppressed alarm. " Every bone in my body
aches. What shall we do if they have not held the
train? "

" Send for an undertaker," he replied grimly, see
ing policy in jest. They were now ascending an in
cline, bumping over boulders, hurtling through
treacherous ruts and water-washed holes, rolling,
swinging, jerking, crashing. " You have been brave
all along; don t give up now. It is almost over.
You ll soon be with your friends."

" How can I thank you? " she cried, gripping his
arm once more. Again his hand dropped upon hers
and closed gently.

" I wish that I could do a thousand times as much
for you," he said, thrillingly, her disheveled hair
touching his face, so close were his lips. " Ah, the
lights of the town ! " he cried an instant later.
" Look ! "

He held her so that she could peer through the
rattling glass window. Close at hand, higher up the
steep, many lights were twinkling against the black
ness.

Almost before they realized how near they were
to the lights, the horses began to slacken their speed,
a moment later coming to a standstill. The awful
ride was over.

" The train ! The train ! " she cried, in ccstacy.
" Here, on the other side. Thank heaven ! "

He could not speak for the joyful pride that dis
tended his heart almost to bursting. The coach door
flew open, and Light-horse Jerry yelled:

TWO STRANGERS IN A COACH 33

" Here y are ! I made her ! "

" I should say you did ! " exclaimed Grenf all, climb
ing out and drawing her after him gently. " Here s
your ten."

" I must send you something, too, my good fel
low," cried the lady. " What is your address
quick?"

" William Perkins, , West Virginny,

ma am."

Lorry was dragging her toward the cars as the
driver completed the sentence. Several persons were
running down the platform, dimly lighted from the
string of car windows. She found time to pant as
they sped along

" He was not Light-horse Jerry, at all 1 "

Ill

MISS GUGGEXSLOCKEB.

He laughed, looking down into her serious up
turned face. A brief smile of understanding flitted
across her lips as she broke away from him and
threw herself into the arms of tall, excited Uncle
Caspar. The conductor, several trainmen and a few
eager passengers came up, the former crusty and
snappish.

" Well, get aboard ! " he growled. " We can t wait
all night."

The young lady looked up quickly, her sensitive
face cringing beneath the rough command. Lorry
stepped instantly to the conductor s side, shook his
finger vigorously under his nose, and exclaimed in
no uncertain tones :

" Now, that s enough from you ! If I hear
another word out of you, I ll make you sweat
blood before to-morrow morning. Understand, my
friend."

"Aw, who are you?" demanded the conductor,
belligerently.

" You ll learn that soon enough. After this you ll
fcave sense enough to find out whom you are talking
to before you open that mouth of yours. Not un-
other word ! " Mr. Greenf all Lorry was not president

34

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 35

of the road, nor was he in any way connected with
it, but his well-assumed air of authority caused the
trainman s ire to dissolve at once.

" Excuse me, sir. I ve been worried to death on
this run. I meant no offence. That old gentleman
has threatened to kill me. Just now he took out his
watch and said if I did not run back for his niece in
two minutes he d call me out and run me through.
I ve been nearly crazy here. For the life of me, I
don t see how you happened to be

" Oh, that s all right. Let s be off," cried Lorry,
who had fallen some distance behind his late com
panion and her uncle. Hurrying after them, he
reached her side in time to assist her in mounting
the car steps.

" Thank you," smiling down upon him bewitch-
ingly. At the top of the steps she was met by her
aunt, behind whom stood the anxious man-servant
and the maid. Into the coach she was drawn by the
relieved old lady, who was critically inspecting her
personal appearance when Lorry and the foreigner
entered.

" Ach, it was so wild and exhilarating, Aunt
Yvonne," the girl was saying, her eyes sparkling.
She stood straight and firm, her chin in the air, her
hands in those of her aunt. The little traveling cap
was on the side of her head, her hair was loose and
very much awry, strands straying here, curls blow
ing there in utter confusion. Lorry fairly gasped
with admiration for the loveliness that would not be
vanquished.

36 GRAUSTARK

" We came like the wind ! I shall never, never for
get it ! " she said.

"But how could you have remained there, child?
Tell me how it happened. We have been frantic,"
said her aunt, half in English, half in German.

" Not now, dear Aunt Yvonne. See my hair !
What a fright I must be ! Fortunate man, your hair
cannot be so unruly as mine. Oh ! " The exclama
tion was one of alarm. In an instant she was at
his side, peering with terrified eyes at the blood
stains on his neck and face. " It is blood ! You are
hurt ! Uncle Caspar, Hedrick quick ! Attend him !
Come to my room at once. You are suffering.
Minna, find bandages ! "

She dragged him to the door of her section before
he could interpose a remonstrance.

" It is nothing a mere scratch. Bumped my head
against the side of the coach. Please don t worry
about it; I can care for myself. Really, it
doesn t "

" But it does ! It has bled terribly. Sit there !
Now, Hedrick, some water."

Hedrick rushed off and was back in a moment
with a basin of water, a sponge and a towel, and be
fore Grenfall fully knew what was happening, the
man-servant was bathing his head, the others look
ing on anxiously, the young lady apprehensively, her
hands clasped before her as she bent over to inspect
the wound above his ear.

" It is quite an ugly cut," said Uncle Caspar, criti
cally. " Does it pain you, sir? "

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 37

" Oh, not a great deal," answered Lorry, closing
his eyes comfortably. It was all very pleasant, he
thought.

"Should it not have stitches, Uncle Caspar?"
asked the sweet, eager voice.

" I think not. The flow is staunched. If the gen
tleman will allow Hedrick to trim the hair away for
a plaster and then bandage it I think the wound will
give him no trouble." The old man spoke slowly
and in very good English.

" Really, Uncle, is it not serious ? "

" No, no," interposed Grenf all Lorry. " I knew it
was a irifle. You cannot break an American s head.
Let me go to my own section and I ll be ready to
present myself as good as new in ten minutes."

" You must let Hedrick bandage your head," she
insisted. " Go with him, Hedrick."

Grenfall arose and started toward his section, fol
lowed by Hedrick.

" I trust you were not hurt during that reckless
ride," he said, more as a question, stopping in the
aisle to look back at her.

" I should have been a mass of bruises, gashes and
lumps had it not been for one thing," she said, a
faint flush coming to her cheek, although her eyes
looked unfaltering into his. " Will you join us in
the dining car? I will have a place prepared for
you at our table."

" Thank you. You are very good. I shall join
you as soon as I am presentable."

" We are to be honored, sir," said the old gentle-

38 GRAUSTARK

man, but in such a way that Grcnfall had a distinct
feeling that it was he who was to be honored. Aunt
Yvonne smiled graciously, and he took his departure.
While Hedrick was dressing the jagged little cut,
Grenfall complacently surveyed the patient in the
mirror opposite, and said to himself a hundred
times : " You lucky dog ! It was worth forty gashes
like this. By Jove, she s divine ! "

In a fever of eager haste he bathed and attired
himself for dinner, the imperturbable Hedrick as
sisting. One query filled the American s mind : " I
wonder if I am to sit beside her." And then : " I
have sat beside her ! There can never again be such
delight!

It was seven o clock before his rather unusual
toilet was completed. " See if they have gone to
dinner, Hedrick," he said to the man-servant, who
departed ceremoniously.

" I don t know why he should be so damned po
lite," observed Lorry, gazing wondcringly after him.
" I am not a king. That reminds me. I must in
troduce myself. She doesn t know me from Adam."

Hedrick returned and announced that they had
just gone to the dining car and were awaiting him
there. He hurried to the dinner and made his way
to their table. Uncle Caspar and his niece were
facing him as he came up between the tables, and
he saw, with no little regret, that he was to sit be
side the aunt directly opposite the girl, however.
She smiled up at him as he stood before them, bow
ing. He saw the expression of injury in those deep,

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 39

liquid eyes of violet as their gaze wandered over
his hair.

" Your head? I see no bandage," she said, re
proachfully.

" There is a small plaster and that is all. Onlj
heroes may have dangerous wounds," he said, laugh-

" Is heroism in America measured by the number
of stitches or the size of the plaster?" she asked,
pointedly. " In my country it is a joy, and not a
calamity. Wounds are the misfortune of valor.
Pray, be seated, Mr. Lorry is it not ? " she said,
pronouncing it quaintly.

He sat down rather suddenly on hearing her utter
his name. How had she learned it? Not a soul on
the train knew it, he was sure.

" I am Caspar Guggenslocker. Permit me, Mr.
Lorry, to present my wife and my niece, Miss Gug
genslocker," said the uncle, more gracefully than he
had ever heard such a thing uttered before.

In a daze, stunned by the name, Guggenslocker,
mystified over their acquaintance with his own
when he had been foiled at every fair attempt to
learn theirs, Lorry could only mumble his acknowl
edgments. In all his life he had never lost com
mand of himself as at this moment. Guggenslocker!
He could feel the dank sweat o disappointment
starting on his brow. A butcher, a beer maker,
a cobbler, a gardener, all synonyms of Guggen
slocker. A sausage manufacturer s niece Miss
Guggenslocker ! He tried to glance unconcernedlj

40 GRAUSTARK.

at her as he took up his napkin, but his eyes wavered
helplessly. She was looking serenely at him, yet
he fancied he saw a shadow of mockery in her blue
eyes.

" If you were a novel writer, Mr. Lorry, what
manner of heroine would you choose? " she asked,
with a smile so tantalizing that he understood in
stinctively why she was reviving a topic once aban
doned. His confusion was increased. Her uncle
and aunt were regarding him calmly, expectantly,
he imagined.

" I I have no ambition to be a novel writer," he
said, " so I have not made a study of heroines."

" But you would have an ideal," she persisted.

" I m sure I I don t that is, she would not
necessarily be a heroine. Unless, of course, it would
require heroism to pose as an ideal for such a prosaic
fellow as I."

" To begin with, you would call her Clarabel
Montrose or something equally as impossible. You
know the name of a heroine in a novel must be
euphonious. That is an exacting rule." It was an
open taunt, and he could see that she was enjoying
his discomfiture. It aroused his indignation and his
wits.

" I would first give my hero a distinguished name.
No matter what the heroine s name might be pretty
or otherwise I could easily change it to his in the
last chapter." She flushed beneath his now bright,
keen eyes and the ready, though unexpected retort.
Uncle Caspar placed his napkin to his lips and
coughed. Aunt Yvonne studiously inspected her

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 41

bill of fare. " No matter what you call a rose, it is
always sweet," he added, meaningly.

At this she laughed good-naturedly. He mar
veled at her white teeth and red lips. A rose, after
all. Guggenslocker, rose; rose, not Guggenslocker.
No, no! A rose only! He fancied he caught a sly
look of triumph in her uncle s swift glance toward
her. But Uncle Caspar was not a rose he was
Guggenslocker. Guggenslocker butcher! Still, he
did not look the part no, indeed. That extraordi
nary man a butcher, a gardener, a and Aunt
Yvonne? Yet they were Guggcnslockers.

" Here is the waiter," the girl observed, to his re
lief. " I am famished after my pleasant drive. It
was so bracing, was it not, Mr. Grenfall Lorry? "

" Give me a mountain ride always as an appe
tizer," he said, obligingly, and so ended the jest
about a name.

The orders for the dinner were given and the
quartette sat back in their chairs to await the coming
of the soup. Grenfall was still wondering how she
had learned his name, and was on the point of asking
several times during the conventional discussion of
the weather, the train and the mountains. He con
siderately refrained, however, unwilling to embar
rass her.

" Aunt Yvonne tells me she never expected to see
me alive after the station agent telegraphed that we
were coming overland in that awful old carriage.

The agent at P says it is a dangerous road, at

the very edge of the mountain. He also increased

42 GRAUSTARK

the composure of my uncle and aunt by telling them
that a wagon rolled off yesterday, killing a man, two
women and two horses. Dear Aunt Yvonne, how
troubled you must have been."

" I ll confess there were times when I thought we
were rolling down the mountain," said Lorry, with
a relieved shake of the head.

" Sometimes I thought we were soaring through
space, whether upward or downward, I could not
tell. We never failed to come to earth, though, did
we? " she laughingl}- asked.

" Emphatically ! Earth and a little grief," he said,
putting his hand to his head.

" Docs it pain you? " she asked, quickly.

" Not in the least. I was merely feeling to see if
the cut were still there. Mr. Mr. Guggenslocker,
did the conductor object to holding the train?" he
asked, remembering what the conductor had told
him of the old gentleman s actions.

" At first, but I soon convinced him that it should
be held," said the other, quietly.

" My husband spoke very harshly to the poor
man," added Aunt Yvonne. " But I am afraid, Cas
par, he did not understand a word you said. You
were very much excited." The sweet old lady s at
tempts at English were much more laborious than
her husband s.

" If he did not understand my English, he was
very good at guessing," said her husband, grimly.

" He told me you had threatened to call him out,"
ventured the young man.

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 43

" Call him out? Ach, a railroad conductor!" ex
claimed Uncle Caspar, in fine scorn.

" Caspar, I heard you say that you would call him
out," interposed his wife, with reproving eyes.

" Ach, God ! I have made a mistake ! I see it all !
It was the other word I meant down not out. I
intended to call him down, as you Americans say.
I hope he will not think I challenged him." He was
very much perturbed.

" I think he was afraid you would," said Lorry.

" He should never fear. I could not meet a rail
road conductor. Will you please tell him I could
not so condescend? Besides, dueling is murder im
your country, I am told."

" It usually is, sir. Much more so than in Europe."
The others looked at him inquiringly. " I mean that
in America when two men pull their revolvers and
go to shooting at each other, some one is killed fre
quently both. In Europe, as I understand it, a
scratch with the sword ends the combat."

" You have been misinformed," exclaimed Uncle
Caspar, his eyebrows elevated.

" Why, Uncle Caspar has fought more duels than
he can count," cried the girl, proudly.

" And has he slain his man every time?" asked
Grcnfall, smilingly, glancing from one to the other.
Aunt Yvonne shot a reproving look at the girl,
whose face paled instantly, her eyes going quickly in
affright to the face of her uncle.

" God ! " Lorry heard the old gentleman mutter.
He was looking at his bill of fare, but his eyes were

44 GRAUSTARK

fixed and staring. The card was crumpling between
the long, bony fingers. The American realized that
a forbidden topic had been touched upon.

" He has fought and he has slain," he thought as
quick as a flash. " He is no butcher, no gardener, no
cobbler. That s certain ! "

" Tell us, Uncle Caspar, what you said to the con
ductor," cried the young lady, nervously.

" Tell them, Caspar, how alarmed we were," added
soft-voiced Aunt Yvonne. Grenfall was a silent, in
terested spectator. He somehow felt as if a scene
from some tragedy had been reproduced in that
briefest of moments. Calmly and composedly, a
half-smile now on his face, the soldierly Caspar nar
rated the story of the train s run from one station to
the other.

" We did not miss you until we had almost
reached the other station. Then your Aunt Yvonne
asked me where A-OU had gone. I told her I had
not seen you, but went into the coach ahead to
search. You were not there. Then I went on to
the dining car. Ach, you were not there. In alarm
I returned to our car. Your aunt and I looked
everywhere. You were not anywhere. I shall never
forget your aunt s face when she sank into a chair,
nor shall I feel again so near like dying as when
she suggested that you might have fallen from the
train. I sent Hedrick ahead to summon the con
ductor, but he had hardly left us when the engine
whistled sharply and the train began to slow up in
a jerky fashion. We were very pale as we looked

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 45

at each other, for something told us that the stop
was unusual. I rushed to the platform, meeting
Hedrick, who was as much alarmed as I. He said
the train had been flagged, and that there must be
something wrong. Your aunt came out and told
me that she had made a strange discovery."

Grenfall observed that he was addressing himself
exclusively to the young lady.

" She had found that the gentleman in the next
section was also missing. While we were standing
there in doubt and perplexity, the train came to a
standstill, and soon there was shouting on the out
side. I climbed down from the car and saw that
we were at a little station. The conductor came
running toward me excitedly.

" Is the young lady in the car? " he asked.
" No. For Heaven s sake, what have you heard?
I cried.

" Then she has been left at O , he exclaimed,

and used some very extraordinarily American words.
" I then informed him that he should run back for
you, first learning that you were alive and well. He
said he would be damned if he would pardon the
word, ladies. He was very angry, and said he
would give orders to go ahead, but I told him I
would demand restitution of his government. He
laughed in my face, and then I became shamelessly
angry. I said to him :

" * Sir, I shall call you down not out, as you
have said and I shall run you through the mill.
" That was good American talk, sir, was it

46 GRAUSTARK

Mr. Lorry? I wanted him to understand me, so I
tried to use your very best language. Some gentle
men who are traveling on this train and some very
excellent ladies also joined in the demand that the
train be held. His despatch from O - said that
you, Mr. Lorry, insisted on having it held for
twenty minutes. The conductor insulted you, sir,
by saying that you had more ah, what is it? gall
than any idiot he had ever seen. When he said
that, although I did not fully understand that it was
a reflection on you, so ignorant am I of your lan
guage, I took occasion to tell him that you were a
gentleman and a friend of mine. He asked me your
name, but, as I did not know it, I could only tell
him that he would learn it soon enough. Then he
said something which has puzzled me ever since.
He told me to close my face. What did he mean
by that, Mr. Lorry?"

" Well, Mr. Guggenslocker, that means in re
fined American, stop talking, " said Lorry, con
trolling a desire to shout.

" Ach, that accounts for his surprise when I
talked louder and faster than ever. I did not know
what he meant. He said positively he would not
wait, but just then a second message came from the
other station. I did not know what it was then,
but a gentleman told me that it instructed him to
hold the train if he wanted to hold his job. Job is
situation, is it not? Well, when he read that mes
sage he said he would wait just twenty minutes. I
asked him to tell me how you were coming to us,

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 47

but he refused to answer. Your aunt and I went at
once to the telegraph man and implored him to tell
us the truth, and he said you were coming in a car
riage over a very dangerous road. Imagine oxir
feelings when he said some people had been killed
yesterday on that very road. He said you would
have to drive like the the very devil if you got
here in twenty minutes."

" We did, Uncle Caspar," interrupted Miss Gug-
genslocker, naively. " Our driver followed Mr.
Lorry s instructions."

Mr. Grenfall Lorry blushed and laughed awk
wardly. He had been admiring her eager face and
expressive eyes during Uncle Caspar s recital. How
sweet her voice when it pronounced his name, how
charming the foreign flavor to the words.

" He would not have understood if I had said
other things," he explained, hastily.

" When your aunt and I returned to the train we
saw the conductor holding his watch. He said to
me: In just three minutes we pull out. If they
are not here by that time they can get on the best
they know how. I ve done all I can. I did not say
a word, but went to my section and had Hedrick
get out my pistols. If the train had left before you
arrived it would be without its conductor. In the
meantime, your Aunt Yvonne was pleading with
the wretch. I hastened back to his side with my
pistols in my pocket. It was then that I told him to
start the train if he dared. That man will never
know how close he was to death. One minute

48 GRAUSTARK

passed, and he coolly announced that but one minute
was left. I had made up my mind to give him one
of my pistols when the time was up, and to tell him
to defend himself. It was not to be a duel, for
there was nothing regular about it. It was only a
question as to whether the train should move. Then
came the sound of carriage wheels and gallop
ing horses. Almost before we knew it you were
with us. I am so happy that you were not a minute
later.

There was something so cool and grim in the
quiet voice, something so determined in those bril
liant eyes, that Grenfall felt like looking up the
conductor to congratulate him. The dinner was
served, and while it was being discussed his fair
companion of the drive graphically described the
experience of twenty strange minutes in a shackle-
down mountain coach. He was surprised to find
that she omitted no part, not even the hand clasp or
the manner in which she clung to him. His ears
burned as he listened to this frank confession, for
he expected to hear words of disapproval from the
uncle and aunt. His astonishment was increased
by their utter disregard of these rather peculiar de
tails. It was then that he realized how trusting she
had been, how serenely unconscious of his tender
and sudden passion. And had she told her relatives
that she had kissed him, he firmly believed they
would have smiled approvingly. Somehow the real
flavor of romance was striken from the ride by
her candid admissions. What he had considered a

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 49

romantic treasure was being calmly robbed of its
glitter, leaving for his memory the blurr of an ad
venture in which he had played the part of a gallant
gentleman and she a grateful lady. He was begin
ning to feel ashamed of the conceit that had mis
led him. Down in his heart he was saying : " I
might have known it. I did know it. She is not
like other women." The perfect confidence that
dwelt in the rapt faces of the others forced into
his wondering mind the impression that this girl
could do no wrong.

" And, Aunt Yvonne," she said, in conclusion,
" the luck which you say is mine as birthright as
serted itself. I escaped unhurt, while Mr. Lorry
alone possesses the pain and unpleasantness of our
ride."

" I possess neither," he objected. " The pain that
you refer to is a pleasure."

" The pain that a man endures for a woman
should always be a pleasure," said Uncle Caspar,
smilingly.

" But it could not be a pleasure to him unless the
woman considered it a pain," reasoned Miss Gug-
genslocker. " He could not feel happy if she did
not respect the pain."

" And encourage it," supplemented Lorry, drily.
" If you do not remind me occasionally that I am
hurt, Miss Guggenslocker, I am liable to forget it."
To himself he added : " I ll never learn how to say
it in one breath."

" If I were not so soon to part from you I should

50 GRAUSTARK

be your physician, and, like all physicians, prolong
your ailment interminably," she said, prettily.

" To my deepest satisfaction," he said, warmly,
not lightly. There was nothing further from his
mind than servile flattery, as his rejoinder might
imply. " Alas ! " he went on, " We no sooner meet
than we part. May I ask when you are to sail? "

" On Thursday," replied Mr. Guggenslocker.

" On the Kaiser Wilhclm der Grossc," added his
niece, a faraway look coming into her eyes.

" We are to stop off one day, to-morrow, in Wash
ington," said Aunt Yvonne, and the jump that
Lorry s heart gave was so mighty that he was afraid
the} could see it in his face.

" My uncle has some business to transact in your
city, Mr. Lorry. We are to spend to-morrow there
and Wednesday in New York. Then we sail. Ach,
how I long for Thursday ! " His heart sank like
lead to the depths from which it had sprung. It re
quired no effort on his part to see that he was
alone in his infatuation. Thursday was more to
her than his existence ; she could forget him and
think of Thursday, and when she thought of Thurs
day, the future, he was but a thing of the past,
not even of the present.

" Have you always lived in Washington, Mr.
Lorry? " asked Mrs. Guggenslocker.

" All my life," he replied, wishing at that moment
that he was homeless and free to choose for himself.

" You Americans live in one city and then in an-

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 51

other," she said. " Now, in our country generation
after generation lives and dies in one town. We
are not migratory."

" Mr. Lorry has offended us by not knowing where
Graustark is located on the map," cried the young
lady, and he could see the flash of resentment in her
eyes.

" Why, my dear sir, Graustark is in " began

Uncle Caspar, but she checked him instantly.

" Uncle Caspar, you are not to tell him. I have
recommended that he study geography and discover
us for himself. He should be ashamed of his ignor
ance."

He was not ashamed, but he mentally vowed that
before he was a day older he would find Graustark
on the map and would stock his negligent brain
with all that history and the encyclopedia had to
say of the unknown land. Her uncle laughed, and,
to Lorry s disappointment, obeyed the young lady s
command.

" Shall I study the map of Europe, Asia or
Africa? asked he, and they laughed.

" Study the map of the world," said Miss Gug-
genslocker, proudly.

" Edelweiss is the capital ? "

" Yes, our home city, the queen of the crags,"
cried she. " You should see Edelweiss, Mr. Lorry.
It is of the mountain, the plain and the sky. There
are homes in the valley, homes on the mountain side
and homes in the clouds."

"And yours? From what you say it must be
above the clouds in heaven."

52 GRAUSTARK

" We are farthest from the clouds, for we live in
the green valley, shaded by the white topped moun
tains. We may, in Edelweiss, have what climate we
will. Doctors do not send us on long journeys for
our health. They tell us to move up or down the
mountain. We have balmy spring, glorious summer,
refreshing autumn and chilly winter, just as we like."

" Ideal ! I think you must be pretty well toward
the south. You could not have July and January if
you were far north."

" True ; yet we have January in July. Study your
map. We are discernible to the naked eye," she
said, half ironically.

" I care not if there are but three inhabitants of
Graustark, all told, it is certainly worthy of a posi
tion on any map," said Lorry, gallantly ; and his lis
teners applauded with patriotic appreciation. " By
the way, Mr. Gug Guggenslocker, you say the con
ductor asked you for my name and you did not
know it. May I ask you how you learned it later
on? " His curiosity got the better of him, and his
courage was increased by the champagne the old
gentleman had ordered.

" I did not know your name until my niece told it
to me after your arrival in the carriage," said Uncle
Caspar.

" I don t remember giving it to Miss Guggen
slocker at any time," said Lorry.

" You were not my informant," she said, de
murely.

" Surely you did not guess it."

MISS GUGGENSLOCKER 53

" Oh, no, indeed. I am no mind reader."

" My own name was the last thing you could have
read in my mind, in that event, for I have not thought
of it in three days."

She was sitting with her elbows on the table,
her chin in her hands, a dreamy look in her blue
eyes.

" You say you obtained that coin from the porter
on the Denver train? "

" Within two hours after I got aboard."

" Well that coin purchased your name for me,"
she said, calmly, candidly. He gasped.

" You you don t mean that you " he stam
mered.

" You see, Mr. Lorry. I wanted to know the name
of a man who came nearest my ideal of what an
American should be. As soon as I saw you I knew
that you were the American as I had grown to
know him through the books, big, strong, bold and
comely. That is why I bought your name of the
porter. I shall always say that I know the name of
an ideal American, Grenfall Lorry."

The ideal American was not unmoved. He was
in a fever of fear and happiness, fear because he
thought she was jesting, happiness because he hoped
she was not. He laughed awkwardly, absolutely
unable to express himself in words. Her frank
statement staggered him almost beyond the power
of recovery. There was joy in the knowledge that
she had been attracted to him at first sight, but there
was bitterness in the thought that he had come to

64 GRAUSTARK

her notice as a sort of specimen, the name of which
she had sought as a botanist would look for the
name of an unknown flower.

" I I am honored," he at last managed to say,
his eyes gleaming with embarrassment. " I trust
you have not found your first judgment a faulty
one." He felt very foolish after this flat remark.

" I have remembered your name," she said, gra
ciously. His heart swelled.

" There are a great many better Americans than
I," he said. " You forget our President and our
statesmen."

" I thought they were mere politicians."

Grenfall Lorry, idealized, retired to his berth that
night, his head whirling with the emotions inspired
by this strange, beautiful woman. How lovely, how
charming, how naive, how queenly, how indifferent,
how warm, how cold how everything that puzzled
him was she. His last waking thought was :

" Guggenslocker ! An angel with a name like
ttat!"

IV

THE INVITATION EXTENDED

They were called by the porter early the next
morning. The train was pulling into Washington,
five hours late. Grenfall wondered, as he dressed,
whether fortune would permit him to see much of
her during her brief day in the capital. He dreamed
of a drive over the avenues, a trip to the monument,
a visit to the halls of congress, an inspection of
public buildings, a dinner at his mother s home,
luncheon at the Ebbitt, and other attentions which
might give to him every moment of her day in
Washington. But even as he dreamed, he was cer
tain that his hopes could not be gratified.

After the train had come to a standstill he could
hear the rustle of her garments in the next compart
ment. Then he heard her sweep into the passage,
greet her uncle and aunt, utter a few commands to
the maid, and, while he was adjusting his collar and
necktie, pass from the car. No man ever made
quicker time in dressing than did Lorry. She could
hardly have believed him ideal had she seen his scowl
ing face or heard the words that hissed through
his impatient teeth.

" She ll get away, and that ll be the end of it," he
growled, seizing his traps and rushing from the

55

56 GRAUSTARK

train two minutes after her departure. The porter
attempted to relieve him of his bags on the platform,
but he brushed him aside and was off toward the
station.

" Nice time for you to call a man, you idiot," was
his parting shot for the porter, forgetting, of course,
that the foreigners had been called at the same time.
With eyes intent on the crowd ahead, he plunged
along, seeing nobody in his disappointed flight. " I ll
never forgive myself if I miss her," he was wailing
to himself. She was not to be seen in the waiting-
rooms, so he rushed to the sidewalk.

" Baggage transferred? "

"Cab, sir?"

" Go to the devil yes, here ! Take these traps

and these checks and rush my stuff to N. ,

W - Avenue. Trunks just in on B. & O.,"
he cried, tossing his burdens to a transfer man and
giving him the checks so quickly that the fellow s
sleepy eyes opened wider than they had been for a
month. Relieved of his impedimenta, he returned
to the station.

" Good morning, Mr. Lorry. Are you in too
much of a hurry to see your friends? " cried a clear,
musical voice, and he stopped as if shot. The anx
ious frown flew from his brow and was succeeded
instantaneously by a glad smile. He wheeled and
beheld her, with Aunt Yvonne, standing near the
main entrance to the station. " Why, good morn
ing," he exclaimed, extending his hand gladly. To
his amazement she drew herself up haughtily and

THE INVITATION EXTENDED 57

ignored the proffered hand. Only for a brief sec
ond did this strange and uncalled-for hauteur ob
tain. A bright smile swept over her face, and her
repentant fingers sought his timidly, even awk
wardly. Something told him that she was not ac
customed to handshaking; that same something im
pelled him to bend low and touch the gloved fingers
with his lips. He straightened, with face flushed,
half fearful lest his act had been observed by curious
loungers, and he had taken the liberty in a public
place which could not be condoned. But she smiled
serenely, approvingly. There was not the faintest
sign of embarrassment or confusion in the lovely
face. Any other girl in the world, he thought,
would have jerked her hand away and giggled furi
ously. Aunt Yvonne inclined her head slightly, but
did not proffer her hand. He wisely refrained from
extending his own. " I thought you had left the sta
tion," he said.

" We are waiting for Uncle Caspar, who is giv
ing Hedrick instructions. Hedrick, you know, is to
go on to New York with our boxes. He will have
them aboard ship when we arrive there. All that
we have with us is hand luggage. We leave Wash
ington to-night."

" I had hoped you might stay over a few days."
" It is urgent business that compels us to leave so
hastily, Mr. Lorry. Of all the cities in the world,
I have most desired to see the capital of your coun
try. Perhaps I may return some day. But do not
let us detain you, if you are in a hurry."

58 GRAUSTARK

He started, looked guilty, stammered something
about baggage, said he would return in a moment,
and rushed aimlessly away, his ears fiery.

" I m all kinds of a fool," he muttered, as he raced
around the baggage-room and then back to where
he had left the two ladies. Mr. Guggenslocker had
joined them and they were preparing to depart.
Miss Guggenslocker s face expressed pleasure at see
ing him.

" We thought you would never return, so long
were you gone," she cried, gaily. He had been gone
just two minutes by the watch! The old gentleman
greeted him warmly, and Lorry asked them to what
hotel they were going. On being informed that they
expected to spend the day at the Ebbitt, he volun
teered to accompany them, saying that he intended
to breakfast there. Quicker than a flash a glance,
unfathomable as it was brief, passed between the
three, not quickly enough, however, to escape his
keen, watchful eyes, on the alert since the beginning
of his acquaintance with them, in conjunction with
his ears, to catch something that might satisfy, in
a measure, his burning curiosity. What was the
meaning of that glance? It half angered him, for
in it he thought he could distinguish annoyance, ap
prehension, dismay or something equally disquiet
ing. Before he could stiffen his long frame and
give vent to the dignified reconsideration that flew
to his mind, the young lady dispelled all pain and
displeasure, sending him into raptures, by say
ing:

THE INVITATION EXTENDED 59

" How good of you ! We shall be so delighted to
have you breakfast with us, Mr. Lorry, if it is con
venient for you. You can talk to us of your won
derful city. Now, say that you will be good to us;
stay your hunger and neglect your personal affairs
long enough to give us these early morning hours.
I am sure we cannot trouble you much longer."

He expostulated gallantly and delightedly, and
then hurried forth to call a cab. At eight o clock he
breakfasted with them, his infatuation growing deeper
and stronger as he sat for the hour beneath the
spell of those eyes, the glorious face, the sweet, im
perial air that was a part of her, strange and un
affected. As they were leaving the dining-room, he
asked her if she would not drive with him.

His ardent gallantry met with a surprising rebuke.
The conversation up to that moment had been bright
and cheery, her face had been the constant reflector
of his own good spirits, and he had every reason
in the world to feel that his suggestion would be
received with pleasure. It was a shock to him, there
fore, to see the friendly smile fade from her eyes
and a disdainful gleam succeed it. Her voice, a
moment ago sweet and affable, changed its tone in
stantly to one so proud and arrogant that he could
scarcely believe his cars.

" I shall be engaged during the entire day, Mr.
Lorry," she said, slowly, looking him fairly in the
eyes with cruel positiveness. Those eyes of his were
wide with surprise and the glowing gleam of in
jured pride. His lips closed tightly; little red spots

60 GRAUSTARK

flew to his checks and then disappeared, leaving his
face white and cold; his heart throbbed painfully
with mingled emotions of shame and anger. For
a moment he dared not speak.

" I have reason to feel thankful that you are to
be engaged," he said at last, calmly, without taking
his eyes from hers. " I am forced to believe, much
to my regret, that I have offended when I intended
to please. You will pardon my temerity."

There was no mistaking the resentment in his
voice or the glitter in his eyes. Impulsively her
little hand was stretched forth, falling upon his
arm, while into her eyes came again the soft glow
and to her lips the most pathetic, appealing smile,
the forerunner of a pretty plea for forgiveness. The
change startled and puzzled him more than ever. In
one moment she was unreasonably rude and imperi
ous, in the next gracious and imploring.

" Forgive me," she cried, the blue eyes battling
bravely against the steel in the grey ones above. " I
was so uncivil ! Perhaps I cannot make you under
stand why I spoke as I did, but, let me say, I richly
deserved the rebuke. Pray forgive me and forget
that I have been disagreeable. Do not ask me to
tell you why I was so rude to you just now, but
overlook my unkind treatment of your invitation.
Please, Mr. Lorry, I beg of you I beg for the first
time in my life. You have been so good to me; be
good to me still."

His wrath melted away like snow before the sun
shine. How could he resist such an appeal? "I

THE INVITATION EXTENDED 61

beg for the first time in my life," whirled in his
brain. What did she mean by that?

" I absolve the penitent," he said, gravely.

" I thank you. You are still my ideal American
courteous, bold and gentle. I do not wonder that
Americans can be masterful men. And now I thank
you for your invitation, and ask you to let me with
draw my implied refusal. If } r ou will take me for
the drive, I shall be delighted and more than grate
ful."

" You make me happy again," he said, softly, as
they drew near the elder members of the party, who
had paused to wait for them. " I shall ask your
uncle and aunt to accompany us."

" Uncle Caspar will be busy all day, but I am sure
my aunt will be charmed. Aunt Yvonne, Mr. Lorry
has asked us to drive with him over the city, and
I have accepted for you. When are we to start, Mr.
Lorry?"

Mr. and Mrs. Guggcnslocker stared in a bewil
dered sort of manner at their niece. Then Aunt
Yvonne turned questioning eyes toward her hus
band, who promptly bowed low before the tall Ameri
can, and said:

" Your kind offices shall never be forgotten, sir.
When are the ladies to be ready? "

Lorry was weighing in his mind the advisability
of asking them to dine in the evening with his mother,
but two objections presented themselves readily.
First, he was afraid of this perverse maid; second,

62 GRAUSTARK

he had not seen his mother. In fact, he did not
know that she was in town.

" At two o clock, I fancy. That will give us the
afternoon. You leave at nine to-night, do you
not?"

" Yes. And will you dine with us this evening? "
Her invitation was so unexpected, in view of all
that had happened, that he looked askance. " Ach,
you must not treat my invitation as I did yours ! "
she cried, merrily, although he could detect the
blush that returns with the recollection of a repri
mand. " You should profit by what I have been
taught." The girl abruptly threw her arm about
her aunt and cried, as she drew away in the direc
tion of her room : " At two, then, and at dinner this
evening. I bid you good morning, Mr. Lorry."

The young man, delighted with the turn of af
fairs, but dismayed by what seemed a summary dis
missal, bowed low. He waited until the strange trio
entered the elevator and then sauntered downstairs,
his hands in his pockets, his heart as light as air.
Unconsciously he jingled the coins. A broad smile
came over his face as he drew forth a certain piece.
Holding it between his thumb and forefinger, he
said :

" You are what it cost her to learn my name, are
you? Well, my good fellow, you may be very small,
but you bought something that looks better than
Guggenslocker on a hotel register. Your mistress
is an odd bit of humanity, a most whimsical bit, I
must say. First, she s no and then she s yes. You re

THE INVITATION EXTENDED 63

lucky, my coin, to have fallen into the custody of
one who will not give you over to the mercy of
strangers for the sake of a whim. You are now
retired on a pension, well deserved after valiant ser
vice in the cause of a most capricious queen."

In an hour he was at home and relating to his
mother the story of his wanderings, neglecting, for
reasons best known to himself, the events which oc
curred after Denver had been left behind, except
for casual allusion to " a party of foreigners." At
one o clock, faultlessly attired, he descended to the
brougham, telling Mrs. Lorry that he had invited
some strangers to see the city. On the way down
town he remembered that he was in business the
law business and that it would be well to drop in
and let his uncle know he was in the city. On sec
ond thought, however, he concluded it was too near
two o clock to waste any time on business, so the
office did not know that he was in town until the
next day, and then to no great extent.

For several hours he reveled in her society, sit
ting beside her in the roomy brougham, Aunt Yvonne
opposite, explaining to her the many places of in
terest as they passed. They entered the Capitol ;
they saw the White House, and, as they were driv
ing back to the hotel, passed the President of the
United States.

Miss Guggenslockcr, when informed that the
President s carriage was approaching, relaxed grace
fully from the stately reserve that had been puzzling
him, and revealed an eager curiosity. Her eyes

64 GRAUSTARK

fastened themselves upon the President, Lorry find
ing entertainment in the changes that came over her
unconscious face. Instead of noting the veneration
he had expected, lie was astonished and somewhat
provoked to see a slight curl of disgust at the cor
ners of her mouth, a pronounced disappointment in
her eyes. Her face expressed ridicule, pure and
simple, and, he was shocked to observe, the exposure
was unconscious, therefore sincere.

" You do not like our ruler? " he said, as the car
riage whirled by. He was returning his hat to his
head as he spoke.

" I cannot say. I do not know him," she replied,
a tinge of sarcasm in her voice. " You Americans
have one consolation; when you tire of a ruler you
can put another in his place. Is it not wise to do so
quite often? "

" I don t think wise is th^ word. Expedient is bet
ter. I am to infer that you have no politics."

" One house has ruled our land for centuries.
Since I came to your land I have not once seen a
man wave his hat with mad adulation and cry from
his heart: * Long live the President! For cen
turies, in my country, every child has been born with
the words : * Long live the Prince ! in his heart, and
he learns to say them next after the dear parental
words are mastered. * Long live the Prince ! Long
live the Princess ! are tributes of love and honor
that greet our rulers from birth to death. We are
not fickle, and we have no politics."

" Do your rulers hear tin horns, brass bands, cam-

THE INVITATION EXTENDED 65

paign yells, firecrakers and stump speeches every
four years? Do they know what it means to be
the voluntary choice of a whole nation? Do they
know what it is to rule because they have won the
right and not because they were born to it? Has
there ever been a homage-surfeited ruler in your
land who has known the joy that comes with the
knowledge that he has earned the right to be cheered
from one end of the country to the other? Is there
not a difference between your hereditary Long live
the Prince and our wild, enthusiastic, spontaneous
* Hurrah for Cleveland! Miss Guggenslocker? All
men are equal at the beginning in our land. The
man who wins the highest gift that can be bestowed
by seventy millions of people is the man who had
brains and not title as a birthright." He was a
bit exasperated.

" There ! I have displeased you again. You must
pardon my antiquated ideas. We, as true and loyal
subjects of a good sovereign, cannot forget that our
rulers are born, not made. Perhaps we are afflicted
at times with brainless monarchs and are to be pitied.
You are generous in your selection of potentates,
be generous, then, with me, a benighted royalist,
who craves leniency of one who may some day be
President of the United States."

" Granted, without Discussion. As possible,
though not probable, President of the United States.
I am magnanimous to an unfortunate who can never
hope to be princess, no matter how well she might
grace the gilded throne."

6 GRAUSTARK

She greeted his glowing remark with a smile so
intoxicating that he felt himself the most favored of
men. He saw that smile in his mind s eye for months
afterward, that maddening sparkle of joy, which
flashed from her eyes to the very bottom of his
heart, there to snuggle forever with Memory s most
priceless treasures.

Their dinner was but one more phase of this fas
cinating dream. More than once he feared that he
was about to awake to find bleak unhappincss where
exquisite joy had reigned so gloriously. As it drew
to an end a sense of depression came over him. An
hour at most was all that he could have with her.
Nine o clock was drawing nigh with its regrets, its
longings, its desolation. He determined to retain
the pleasures of the present until, amid the clanging
of bells and the roll of car wheels, the dismal future
began. His intention to accompany them to the sta
tion was expressed as they were leaving the table.
She had begun to say good-bye to him when he in
terrupted, self-consciousness forcing the words hur
riedly and disjointedly from his lips:

" You will let me go to the station with you. I
shall er deem it a pleasure."

She raised her eyebrows slight!} , but thanked him
and said she would consider it an honor. His face
grew hot and his heart cold with the fancy that
there was in her eyes a gleam which said : " I pity
you, poor fellow."

Notwithstanding his strange misgiving and the
fact that his pride had sustained quite a perceptible

THE INVITATION EXTENDED 67

shock, he drove with them to the station. They
went to the sleeping car a few minutes before the
time set for the tram s departure, and stood at the
bottom of the steps, uttering the good-byes, the
God speeds and the sincere hope that they might
meet again. Then came the sharp activity of the
trainmen, the hurry of belated passengers. He
glanced soberly at his watch.

" It is nine o clock. Perhaps you would better get
aboard," he said, and proceeded to assist Aunt
Yvonne up the steps. She turned and pressed his
hand gently before passing into the car.

" Adieu, good friend. You have made it so very
pleasant for us," she said, earnestly.

The tall, soldierly old gentleman was waiting to
assist his niece into the coach.

" Go first, Uncle Caspar," the girl made Lorry
happy by saying. " I can easily come up unaided."

" Or I can assist her," Lorry hastened to add, giv
ing her a grateful look which she could not mis
understand. The uncle shook hands warmly with
the young man and passed up the steps. She was
following when Lorry cried:

" Will you not allow me? "

She laughingly turned to him from the steps and
stretched forth her hand.

" And now it is good-bye forever. I am so sorry
that I have not seen more of you," she said. He
took her hand and held it tightly for a moment.

" I shall never forget the past few days," he said,
a thrill in his voice. " You have put something into

68 GRAUSTARK

my life that can never be taken away. You will for
get me before you are out of Washington, but I I
shall always see you as you are now."

She drew her hand away gently, but did not take
her eyes from his upturned face.

" You are mistaken. Why should I forget you
ever? Are you not the ideal American whose name
I bought? I shall always remember you as I saw
you at Denver.

" Not as I have been since? " he cried.

" Have you changed since first I saw you? " she
asked, quaintly.

" I have, indeed, for you saw me before I saw
you. I am glad I have not changed for the worse in
your eyes."

" As I first knew you with my eyes I will say
that they are trustworthy," she said, tantaliz-

ing j-

" I do not mean that I have changed externally."
" In any other case my eyes would not serve," she
cried, with mock disappointment. " Still," she added,
sweepingly, " you are my ideal American. Good
bye ! The man has called * All aboard !

" Good-bye ! " he cried, swinging up on the nar
row step beside her. Again he clasped her hand, as
she drew back in surprise. " You are going out of
my land, but not out of my mind. If you wish your
eyes to see the change in me, you have only to look at
them in a mirror. The?/ are the change they them
selves! Good-bye! I hope that I may see you
ajrain."

THE INVITATION EXTENDED 69

She hesitated an instant, her eyes wavering be
neath his. The train was moving slowly now.

" I pray that we may meet," she said, softly, at
last, so softly that he barely heard the words. Had
she uttered no sound he could have been sure of her
response, for it was in her telltale eyes. His blood
leaped madly. " You will be hurt if you wait till
the train is running at full speed," she cried, sud
denly returning to the abandoned merry mood. She
pushed him gently in her excitement. " Don t you
see how rapidly we are moving? Please go ! " There
was a terror in her eyes that pleased him.

" Good-bye, then," he cried.

" Adieu, my American," she cried, quickly.

As he swung out, ready to drop to the ground, she
said, her eyes sparkling with something that sug
gested mischief, her face more bewitching than ever
under the flicker of the great arc lights:

" You must come to Edelweiss to see me. I shall
expect you ! " He thought there was a challenge in
the tones. Or was it mockery?

" I will, by heaven, I will ! " he exclaimed.

A startled expression flashed across her face, and
her lips parted as if in protestation. As she leaned
forward, holding stoutly to the hand-rail, there was
no smile on her countenance.

A white hand fluttered before his eyes, and she
was gone. He stood, hat in hand, watching the
two red lights at the end of the train until they
were lost in the night.

SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE

If Lorry slept that night he was not aware of it.
The next morning, after he had breakfasted with
his mother, he tried in vain to recall a minute of the
time between midnight and eight a. m. in which he
did not think of the young woman who had flown
away with his tranquility. All night long he tossed
and thought. He counted ten thousand black sheep
jumping over a pasture fence, but, after the task
was done and the sheep had scattered, he was as
far from sleep as ever. Her face was everywhere.
Her voice filled his ear with music never-ceasing,
but it was not the lulling music that invites drowsi
ness. He heard the clock strike the hours from one
to eight, when he arose, thoroughly disgusted with
himself. Everything seemed to taste bitter or to
look blue. That breakfast was a great strain on
his natural politeness. He worshipped his mother,
but in several instances that morning he caught him
self just in time to prevent the utterance of some
sharp rejoinder to her pleasant, motherly queries.
Twice she was compelled to repeat questions, his
mind being so far away that he heard nothing save

70

SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE 71

words that another woman had uttered, say twenty-
four hours before. His eyes were red, and there
was a heavy droop to the lids ; his tones were drawl
ing and his voice strangely without warmth; his
face was white and tired.

" You are not well, Grenfall," his mother said,
peering anxiously into his eyes. " The trip has
done you up. Now, you must take a good, long
rest and recover from your vacation."

He smiled grimly.

"A man never needs a rest so much as he does at
the end of his vacation, eh, mother? Well, work
will be restful. I shall go to the office this morning
and do three days work before night. That will
prove to you that I am perfectly well."

He made a pretense of reading the morning paper.
There was nothing to interest him on those cold,
commonplace pages, not one thing but wait! A
thought struck him suddenly, and for ten minutes
he searched the columns assiduously, even nervously.
Then he threw down the paper with a sigh of relief.

There was nothing to indicate that her train had
been wrecked. She had undoubtedly reached New
York in safety. He looked at his watch. She was
probably enjoying her breakfast at that very mo
ment. Perhaps she was thinking of him and per
haps not. The memory of the last tender hand clasp
and the soft glow in her eyes stood like a wall be
tween the fear that she had forgotten and the cer
tainty that she remembered. Had not this memory
kept him awake? That and the final, mysterious

72 GRAUSTARK

emotion which had shown itself in her face as he
had last looked upon it? A thousand times had he
pondered over the startled look and the signs of
agitation. Was it fear? Was it dismay? \Vas it
renunciation? Whatever it was, it sorely disturbed
him ; it had partly undone the charm of the moment
before the charm that could not and would not
be gainsaid.

True to his intention, he went to the office earl} ,
virtuously inclined to work. His uncle greeted him
warmly and a long conference over business affairs
followed. To Lorry s annoyance and discomfiture, he
found himself frequently inattentive. Several im
portant cases were pending, and in a day or two
they were to go into court with a damage suit of
more than ordinary consequence. Lorry, senior,
could not repress his gratification over the return
of his clever, active nephew at such an opportune
time. He had felt himself unable to handle the
case alone; the endurance of a young and vigorous
mind was required for the coming battle in chan
cery.

They lunched together, the elder eager and con
fidential, the other respectful and absent-minded.
In the afternoon the junion went over the case, and
renewed search for authorities and opinions, fully
determined to be constant in spite of his inclination
to be fickle. Late in the day he petulantly threw
aside the books, curtly informed his astonished uncle
that he was not feeling well, and left the office.
Until dinner time he played billiards atrociously at

SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE 73

his club ; at dinner his mother sharply reproved him
for flagrant inattentions ; after dinner he smoked
and wondered despondently. To-morrow she was to
sail ! If he could but see her once more !

At 7 : 30 his mother found him in the library,
searching diligently through the volume of the en
cyclopedia that contained the G s. When she asked
what he was looking for he laughed idiotically, and,
in confusion, informed her that he was trying to
find the name of the most important city in Indiana.
She was glancing at the books in the case when she
was startled by hearing him utter an exclamation
and then leap to his feet.

" Half-past seven ! I can make it ! "

" What is the matter, Grcn, dear? "

"Oh! " he ejaculated, bringing himself up with a
start. " I forgot er yes, mother, I ll just have
time to catch the train, you know. Will you kindly
have Mary clean up this muss of books and so
forth? I m off, you see, to New York for a day
only, mother, back to-morrow! Important busi
ness just remembered it, you know, ahem! Good
bye, mother ! Good-bye ! " He had kissed her and
was in the hall before she fairly understood what he
was talking about. Then she ran after him, gaining
the hallway in time to see him pass through the street
door, his hat on the side of his head, his overcoat
fluttering furiously as he shoved his arms into the
sleeves. The door slammed, and he was off to New
York.

The train was ready to pull out when he reached

74 GRAUSTARK

the station, and it was only by a hard run that he
caught the last platform, panting but happy. Just
twenty-four hours before she had left Washington,
and it was right here that she had smiled and said
she would expect him to come to Edelweiss. He had
had no time to secure a berth in the sleeper, but was
fortunately able to get one after taking the train.
Grenfall went to sleep, both disappointed and dis
gusted. Disappointed because of his submission
to sentiment; disgusted because of the man who oc
cupied the next section. A man who is in love and
in doubt has not patience with the prosaic wretch
who can sleep so audibly.

After a hasty breakfast in New York he tele
phoned to the steamship company s pier and asked
the time of sailing for the Kaiser Wilhelm. On be
ing informed that the ship was to cast off at her
usual hour, he straightway called a cab and was
soon bowling along toward the busy waterway. Di
rectly he sat bolt upright, rigid and startled to find
himself more awakened to the realization of his
absurd action. Again it entered his infatuated head
that he was performing the veriest schoolboy trick
in rushing to a steamship pier in the hope of catch
ing a final, and at best, unsatisfactory glimpse of a
young woman who had appealed to his sensitive ad
miration. A love-sick boy could be excused for such
a display of imbecility, but a man a man of the
world ! Never !

" The idea of chasing down to the water s edge to
see that girl is enough to make you ashamed of

SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE 75

yourself for life, Grenfall Lorry," he apostrophized.
" It s worse than any love-sick fool ever dreamed of
doing. I am blushing, I ll be bound. The idiocy, the
rank idiocy of the thing! And suppose she should
see me staring at her out there on the pier? What
would she think of me? I ll not go another foot! I
won t be a fool ! "

He was excited and self-conscious and thoroughly
ashamed of the trip into which his impetuous adora
tion had driven him. Just as he was tugging at the
door in the effort to open it that he might order the
driver to take him back to the hotel, a sly tempter
whispered something in his ear ; his fancy was caught,
and he listened:

" Why not go down to the pier and look over the
passenger list, just to see if she has been booked
safely? That would be perfectly proper and sensi
ble, and besides it will be a satisfaction to know
that she gets off all right. Certainly ! There s noth
ing foolish in that. . . . Especially as I am
right on the way there. . . . And as I have come
so far . . . there s no sense in going back with
out seeing whether she has secured passage.
I can find out in a minute and then go home.
There won t be anything wrong in that. And then
I may have a glimpse of her before the ship leaves
the pier. She must not see me, of course. Never!
She d laugh at me! How I d hate to see her laugh
ing at me ! " Then, sinking back again with a smile
of justification on his face, he muttered : " We won t
turn back; we ll go right ahead. We ll be a kind

76 GRAUSTARK

of a fool, but not so foolish as to allow her to see
us and recognize us as one."

Before long they arrived at the wharf, and he
hurried to the office near by. The clerk permitted
him to look over the list. First he ran through the
first-class passengers, and was surprised to find that
there was no such name as Guggenslocker in the list.
Then he went over the second-class, but still no Gug
genslocker.

"Hasn t Mr. Guggenslocker taken passage?" he
demanded, unwilling to believe his eyes.
" Not on the Kaiser Wilhelm, sir."
" Then, by George, they ll miss the boat ! " Lorry
exclaimed. " Maybe they ll be here in a few minutes."
" They can t get anything but steerage now, sir.
Everything else is gone."

" Are you sure they haven t taken passage? " asked
the bewildered Lorry, weakly.

" You can see for yourself," answered the young
man, curtly.

Lorry was again in a perspiration, this time the
result of a vague, growing suspicion that had forced
itself into his mind. He wandered aimlessly away,
his brain a chaos of speculation. The suspicion to
which he had given countenance grew, and as it en
larged he suffered torment untold. Gradually he
came to the conclusion that she had fooled him, had
lied to him. She did not intend to sail on the Wil
helm, at all. It was all very clear to him now, that
strangeness in her manner, those odd occasional
smiles. What was she? An adventuress! That

SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE 77

sweet-faced girl a little ordinary coquette, a liar?
He turned cold with the thought. Nor was she alone
in her duplicity. Had not her uncle and aunt been
as ready to deceive him? Were they trying to
throw him off their track for some subtle purpose?
Had they done something for which they were com
pelled to fly the country as quickly as possible? No !
Not that ! They certainly were rot fleeing from jus
tice. But why were they not on board the Kaiser
Wilhelm?

Suddenly he started as if he had been struck, and
an involuntary exclamation of pain and horror es
caped his lips. Perhaps something unforeseen had
happened an accident illness even death !

The clanging of bells broke upon his ears and he
knew that the great ship was about to depart. Me-
chancially, disconsolately, he walked out and paced
the broad, crowded wharf. All was excitement.
There was the rush of people, the shouts, the cheers,
the puffing of tugs, the churning of water, and the
Kaiser Wilhelm was off on its long voyage. Half
heartedly, miserably, and in a dazed condition, he
found a place in the front row along the rail. There
were tears in his eyes, tears of anger, shame and
mortification. She had played with him !

Moodily he watched the crowd of voyagers hang
ing over the rails of the moving leviathan of the
deep. A faint smile of irony came to his lips. This
was the boat on which his heart was to have been
freighted from native shores. The craft was sail
ing, but it was not carrying the cargo that he had,

78 GRAUSTARK

in very good faith, consigned to Graustark. His
heart was certainly not on board the Kaiser Wilhelm
der Grosse.

Gloomily his disappointed eyes swept along the rail
of the big steamer, half interested in spite of them
selves. Twice they passed a certain point on the
forward deck, unconscious of a force that was at
tracting them in that direction. The third time
he allowed them to settle for an instant on the group
of faces and figures and then stray off to other parts
of the ship. Some strange power drew them again
to the forward deck, and this time he was startled
into an intent stare. Could he believe those eyes?
Surely that was her figure at the rail there between
the two young women who were waving their hand
kerchiefs so frantically. His heart began to jump
up and down, wildly, doubting, impatiently. Why
could not that face be turned toward the wharf as
the others were? There was the blue coat but not
the blue cap. A jaunty sailor hat sat where the
never-to-be-forgotten cap had perched. The change
was slight, but it was sufficient to throw him into
the most feverish state of uncertainty. An insane
desire to shout a command to this strange young
woman came over him.

The ship was slowly opening a gap between her
self and the wharf, and he knew that in a few
moments recognition would be impossible. Just as
he was losing hope and was ready to groan with
despair, the face beneath the sailor hat was turned
squarely in his direction. A glaze obscured his

SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE 79

eyes, a numbness attacked his brain. It was Miss
Guggenslocker !

Why was her name omitted from the passenger
list? That question was the first to whirl through
his addled brain. He forgot the questionings, for
got everything a moment later, for, to his amaze
ment and delight and discomfiture, he saw that she
was peering intently at him. A pair of big glasses
was leveled at him for a second and then lowered.
He plainly saw the smile on her face, and the flutter
ing cambric in her hand. She had seen him, after
all, had caught him in a silly exhibition of weak
ness. Her last impression of him, then, was to be
one of which he could not feel proud. While his
heart burned with shame, it could not have been
suspected from the appearance of his face. His
eyes were dancing, his mouth was wide open with
joy, his lips were quivering with a suppressed shout,
his cheeks were flushed and his whole aspect bespoke
ecstacy. He waved his hat and then his handker
chief, obtaining from her vigorous and unrestrained
signs of approbation. Her face was wreathed in
smiles as she leaned far over the rail, the picture of
animated pleasure.

Making sure that her uncle and aunt were not
visible, he boldly placed his fingers to his lips and
wafted a kiss out over the water !

" Now she ll crush me," he cried to himself, re
gretting the rash act and praying that she had not
observed it.

Her handkerchief ceased fluttering in an instant,

80 GRAUSTARK

and, with sinking heart, he realized that she had ob
served. There was a moment of indecision on the
part of the fair one going out to sea, and then the
little finger tips of both hands went to her lips and
his kiss came back to him !

The people near him were surprised to hear a wild
yell from his lips and then to see him wave his hat
so madly that there was some danger of it being
knocked to pieces against the railing or upon the
persons of those who stood too close to escape the
whirling consequences. So unexpected had been
her reception of what he considered a calamitous
indiscretion that he was to be pardoned for the ebul
lition of relief and joy that followed. Had she
drawn a revolver and fired angrily at him he could
not have been more astounded. But to actually
throw a kiss to him to meet his imprudence in the
same spirit that had inspired it ! Too much to be
lieve ! In the midst of his elation, however, there
came a reminder that she did not expect to see him
again, that she was playing with him, that it was a
merry jest and not a heartache that filled her bosom
at the parting.

While he was still waving his handkerchief, de
bating savagely and joyously the wisdom of the act,
she became a part of the distant color scheme; the
blue figure faded and blended into the gen:ral tone
and could no longer be distinguished. She was
gono, but she had tossed him a kiss from lips that
he should always see. As he turned away from
the water, he found himself wondering if there had

SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE 81

been tears in her eyes, but the probability was so
remote that he laughed foolishly and aloud. A
couple of girls heard the laugh and giggled in sym
pathy, but he turned a scowling face upon them and
disappeared in the throng.

Uppermost in his bewildered mind was the ques
tion: Why is she not in the passenger list? Act
ing on a sudden impulse, he again sought out the
clerk in charge and made a most thorough inspec
tion. There was no Guggenslocker among the
names. As a last resort, he asked:

" They could not have sailed under an assumed
name, could they? "

" I can t say as to that. Where are they
going? "

" Graustark."

But the young man shook his head slowly,
Lorry s shaking in unconscious accord.

" Are you sure that you saw the young lady on
board?"

" Well, rather ! " exclaimed Lorry, emphatically.

" I was going to say there are a lot of Italian and
German singers on the ship, and you might have
been mistaken. But since you are so positive, it
seems very strange that your friends are not on the
list."

So Lorry went away discouraged and with a
vague fear that she might have been a prima donna
whose real name was Guggenslocker but whose
stage name was something more euphonious. He

82 GRAUSTARK

instantly put away the thought and the fear. She
was certainly not an opera singer impossible! He
drove back to his hotel, and made preparations for
his return to Washington. Glancing casually over
the register, he came to the name that had been
haunting him Guggenslocker. There were the
names, " Caspar Guggenslocker and four, Grau-
stark. Without hesitation, he began to question the
clerk.

" They sailed on the Kaiser Wilhelm to-day," said
that worthy. " That s all I know about them. They
came yesterday and left to-day."

Mr. Grenfall Lorry returned to Washington as
in a dream a fairy dream. The air of mystery
that had grown from the first was now an impene
trable wall, the top of which his curiosity could not
scale. Even his fancy, his imagination, served him
not. There was but one point on which he was sat
isfied : he was in love. His own condition was no
mystery.

Several weeks later he went to New York to ques
tion the Captain of the Wilhelm, hoping to clear
away the clouds satisfactorily. To his amazement,
the captain said there had been no Guggcnslockers
on board nor had there been persons answering the
description, so far as he could tell.

Through the long hot summer he worked, and
worried, and wondered. In the first, he did little
that was satisfactory to himself or to his uncle ; in
the second, he did so much that he was advised by
his physician to take a rest ; in the last, he indulged

SENTIMENTAL EXCHANGE 83

himself so extensively that it had become unbear
able. He must know all about her! But how?

The early months of autumn found him pale and
tired and indifferent alike to work and play. He
found no pleasure in the society that had known
him as a lion. Women bored him; men annoyed
him; the play suffocated him; the tiresome club was
ruining his temper ; the whole world was going
wrong. The doctor told him he was approaching
nervous prostration; his mother s anxious eyes
could no longer be denied, so he realized grimly that
there was but one course left open to him. He sug
gested it to the doctor, to his mother and to his
uncle, and they agreed with him. It involved
Europe.

Having fully decided again to cross the sea, his
spirits revived. He became more cheerful, took an
interest in things that were going on, and, by the
time the Kaiser Wilhelm sailed in September, was
the picture of health and life.

He was off for Edelweiss to the strange Miss
Guggenslocker who had thrown him a kiss from
the deck that sailing-day.

VI

GIIAUSTARK

Two weeks later Grenfall Lorry was landed and
enjoying the sensations, the delights of that won
derful world called by the name of Paris. The sec
ond day after his arrival he met a Harvard man of
his time on the street. Harry Anguish had been a
pseudo art student for two years. When at college
he was a hail-fellow-well-met, a leader in athletics
and in matters upon which faculties frown. He
and Lorry were warm friends, although utterly un
like in temperament ; to know either of these men
was to like him ; between the two one found all that
was admirable and interesting in man. The faults
and virtues of each were along such different lines
that they balanced perfectly when lumped upon the
scale of personal estimation. Their unexpected
meeting in Paris was an exhilarating pleasure to
both, and for the next week or so they were insep
arable. Together they sipped absinthe at the cafes
and strolled into the theatres, the opera, the dance
halls and the homes of some of Anguish s friends,
French and American.

Lorry did not speak to his friend of Graustark
until nearly two weeks after his arrival in the city.

84

GRAUSTARK 85

He had discussed with himself the advisability of
revealing his plans to Anguish, fearing the latter s
ridicule with all the cowardice of a man who knows
that scoffing is, in a large measure, justifiable. Grow
ing impatient to begin the search for the unheard-of
country, its capital and at least one of its inhabi
tants, he was at last compelled to inform Anguish,
to a certain extent, of his plans for the future. He
began by telling him of his intention to take a run
over toward Vienna, Buda-Pesth and some of the
Eastern cities, expecting to be gone a couple of
months. To his surprise and consternation, An
guish enthusiastically volunteered to take the trip
with him, having the same project in view for nearly
a year.

There was nothing left for Lorry but to make a
clear breast of it, which he did shamefacedly, ex
pecting the laughter and raillery of his light-hearted
friend as payment for his confidence. Instead, how
ever, Anguish, who possessed a lively and romantic
nature, was charmed by the story and proclaimed it
to be the most delightful adventure that had ever
happened outside of a story-book.

" Tell me all about her," he urged, his eyes spark
ling with boyish enthusiasm. And Lorry proceeded
to give him a personal description of the mysterious
beauty, introducing him, in the same manner, to the
distinguished uncle and aunt, adding all those de
tails which had confounded and upset him during
his own investigations.

" This is rich ! " exclaimed Anguish. " Beats any

86 GRAUSTARK

novel written, I declare. Begad, old man, I don t
blame you for hunting down this wonderful bit of
femininity. With a curiosity and an admiration
that had been sharpened so keenly as yours, I d go
to the end of the world myself to have them satis
fied."

" I may be able to satisfy but one curiosity. And
maybe not that. But who knows of Graustark? "

- Don t give up before you ve tried. If these peo
ple live in such a place, why, it is to be found, of
course. Any railroad guide-book can locate this
land of mystery. There are so many infernal little
kingdoms and principalities over here that it would
take a lifetime to get em all straightened out in
one s head. To-morrow morning we will go to one
of the big railway stations and make inquiries.
We ll locate Graustark and then we ll go over and
pluck the flower that grows there. All you need,
my boy, is a manager. I ll do the arranging, and
your little act will be the plucking."

" Easier said than done."

" She threw a kiss to you, didn t she? "

" Certainly, but, confound it, that was because she
never expected to see me again."

" Same reason why you threw a kiss to her, I sup
pose? "

" I know why ; I wasn t accountable."

"Well, if she did it any more wittingly than you
did, she is accountable, and I d hunt her up and de
mand an explanation."

Lorry laughed at his apparent fervor, but was

GRAUSTARK 87

glad that he had confided in his energetic country
man. Two heads were better than one, and he was
forced to admit to himself that he rather liked the
idea of company in the undertaking. Not that he
expected to encounter any particular difficulty, but
that he saw a strange loneliness ahead. Therefore
he welcomed his friend s avowed intention to ac
company him to Edelweiss as a relief instead of an
annoyance. Until late in the night they discussed
the coming trip, Anguish finally startling him with
a question, just as he was stretching himself pre
paratory to the walk to his hotel.

" What are you going to do with her after you
find her, Gren, old man? "

Grenfall s brow puckered and he brought himself
up with a jerk, puzzled uncertainty expressing itself
in his posture as well as in his face.

" I ll think about that after I have found her," he
replied.

" Think you ll marry her? " persisted the other.

" How do I know? " exclaimed the woman hunter,
savagely.

" Oh, of course you don t know how could
you? " apologized Anguish. " Maybe she won t have
you maybe she is married all sorts of contingen
cies, you know. But, if you ll pardon my inquisi-
tiveness, I d like to ask why you are making this
wild-goose chase half around the world? Just to
have another look at her? "

" You asked me ii I thought Here he

stopped.

88 GRAUSTARK

" I take it for granted, then, that you d like to.
Well, I m glad I ve got something definite on which
to base operations. The one subject of our endeav
ors, from now on, is to exchange Guggenslocker
for Lorry certainly no robbery. A charity, I
should say. Good-night ! See you in the morn-
ing."

The next morning the two friends took a cab to
several railway stations and inquired about Grau-
stark and Edelweiss.

" She was stringing you, old man," said Anguish,
after they had turned away from the third station.
He spoke commiseratingly, as he really felt sorry.

" No ! " exclaimed Lorry. " She told me the truth.
There is a Graustark, and she lives there. I ll stake
my life on those eyes of hers."

" Are you sure she said it was in Europe? " asked
Harry, looking up and down the street as if he
would not have been surprised to see her in Paris.
In his heart he believed that she and her precious
relatives had deceived old Gren. Perhaps their
home was in Paris, and nowhere else. But for
Lorry s positiveness he would have laughed heartily
at the other s simple credulity, or branded him a
dolt, the victim of some merry actress s whim.
Still, he was forced to admit, he was not in a posi
tion to see matters as they appeared, and was chari
table enough to bide his time and to humor the
faith that was leading them from place to place in
the effort to find a land that they knew nothing
about. Lorry seemed so sure, so positive, that he

GRAUSTARK 89

was loath to see his dream dispelled, his ideal shat
tered. There was certainly no Graustark ; neither
had the Guggenslockers sailed on the Wilhelm, all
apparent evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.
Lorry had been in a delirium and had imagined he
saw her on the ship. If there, why was not her
name in the list? But that problem tortured the
sanguine searcher himself.

At last, in despair, after a fruitless search of two
days, Lorry was willing to submit. With the per-
verseness common to half-defeated fighters, An
guish at once protested, forgetting that he had
sought to dissuade his friend the day before.

" We ll go to the library of Paris and take a look
through the books and maps," he said. " Or, better
still, let us go to the post-office. There ! Why have
we not thought of that? What there is of a Grau
stark they ll know in the postal service."

Together they visited the chief post-office, where,
after being directed to various deputies and clerks,
they at length found the department in which the
information was obtainable. Inside of five minutes
they were in possession of facts that vindicated Miss
Guggenslocker, lifted Lorry to the seventh heaven,
and put Mr. Anguish into an agony of impatience.
Graustark was a small principality away off to the
east, and Edelweiss was a city of some seventy-five
thousand inhabitants, according to the postal guide
book.

The Americans could learn no more there, so
they went to Baedecker s office. Here they found

90 GRAUSTAHK

a great map, and, after diligent and almost micro
scopic search, succeeded in discovering the princi
pality of Graustark. Then they looked at each other
in dismay.

" It s a devil of a distance to that little red blot on
the map," mused Lorry, pulling his nose reflectively.
" What an outlandish place for a girl like her to
live in," he continued. " And that sweet-faced old
lady and noble Uncle Caspar ! Ye gods ! one would
think barbarians existed there and not such people
as the Guggcnslockers, refined, cultivated, smart,
rich. I m more interested than ever in the place."

" So am I ! I m willing and ready to make the
trip, old man, if you are still of a mind. It s a lark,
and, besides, she may not be the only pretty and
gracious girl there. We ve had hard work to find it
on the map, let s not stop till we see Edelweiss on the
earth itself."

They made hasty preparations for the journey.
Anguish, romantic and full of adventure, advised
the purchase of a pair of pistols and a knife apiece,
maintaining that, as they were going into an un
known and mountainous region, they should be pre
pared for brigands and other elements of danger.
Lorry pooh-poohed the suggestion of brigands, but
indulged his mood by buying some ugly-looking re
volvers and inviting the prospect of something
really thrilling in the way of an adventure. With
their traps they were soon whirling through France,
bound for a certain great city, on the road to Edel
weiss, one filled with excitement, eagerness and boy-

GRAUSTARK 91

ish zeal, the other harassed by the sombre fear that
a grave disappointment was in store for him.
Through the glamour and the picturesqueness of the
adventure there always crept the unconquerable
feeling that he was on a fool s errand, that he was
committing a deed so weak and brainless that it was
sure to make him a veritable laughing-stock when it
became known. After all, who was Miss Guggen-
slocker brewer, baker, gardener or sausage-maker?

Traveling, of course, was pleasant at this time
of the year, and the two Americans saw much that
interested them along the way. Their French, espe
cially Anguish s, was of great value to them, for
they found occasion to use it at all times and in all
places. Both spoke German fairly well, and took
every opportunity to brush up in that language.
Lorry remembering that the Guggcnslockers used
many expressions that showed a preference for the
Teutonic. The blithe Anguish, confident and in
high feather, was heart and soul in the odd expedi
tion of love, and talked incessantly of their recep
tion by the far-away hostess, their impressions and
the final result. His camera and sketching ma
terials were packed away with his traps. It was
his avowed intention to immortalize the trip by
means of plate, palate and brush.

At the end of two days they reached a certain
large city, the first change, and then seven hundred
miles to another. The distance from this point to
the capital of Graustark was two hundred miles or
more, chiefly through the mountainous lands. Some-

92 GRAUSTARK

what elated by the cheerful information there re
ceived, they resumed the journey to Edelweiss, the
city of vale, slope and park summer, fall and win
ter. Changing cars at the end of the second day out,
they sat back in the dusty seats of their carriage and
sighed with relief.

" Unless we jump the track, this train will land us
in the city we are looking for," said Anguish stretch
ing out his legs comfortably. " I ll admit it has been
a tiresome journey, and I ll be glad when we can
step into a decent hotel, have a rub, and feel like
white men once more. I am beginning to feel like
those dirty Slavs and Huns we saw way back there."

" There s one thing certain," said Lorry, looking
out of the window. " The people and the habita
tions are different and the whole world seems changed
since we left that station. Look at those fellows
on horseback over there."

" What did I tell you about brigands and rob
bers ! " exclaimed Anguish. " If those fellows are
not bandits I ll lose faith in every novel I ever
read."

The train rolled slowly past three mounted men
whose steeds stood like statues upon a little knoll to
the right of the track, men and beasts engaged in
silent contemplation of the cars. The men, pictur
esquely attired and looking fierce, carrj ing long
rifles, certainly bore an aspect that suggested the
brigand. When the guard entered the carriage An
guish asked in German for some information con
cerning the riders.

GRAUSTARK 93

" Dey re frontier police-guards," responded the
man in English, smiling at their astonishment. Both
Americans arose and shook hands with him.

" By George, it s good to hear a man talk white
man s language," cried Anguish.

" How do you come to be holding a job on this
road? An Englishman? " demanded Lorry. He
looked anything but English.

" I m not an Englishman," said the guard, flushing
slightly. " My name s Sitzky, and I m an American,

sir.

M

An American ! " exclaimed Lorry. Sitzky grew
loquacious.

" Sure ! I used to be a sailor on a United States
man-o -war. A couple of years ago I got into trouble
down at Constantinople and had to get out of the
service. After dat I drifted up dis way and went
to railroadin ." He hadn t exactly the manner of a
man-o -warsman.

" How long have you been on this road? " asked
Grenfall.

" Bout a year, I should t ink. Been on this
branch only two months, dough."

"Are you pretty well acquainted in Edelweiss? "

" Oh, I run in derc every other day in an out
ag in. It s a fine place, purtiest you ever saw in
your life. The town runs right up the mountain to
the tip-top where the monks arc clear up in d*
clouds. Dcy say it snows up dere almost all d*
time."

Later on, from the loquacious guard, the two

94 GRAUSTARK

Americans learned quite a good bit about the coun
try and city to which they were going. His knowl
edge was somewhat limited along certain lines, but
quite clear as to others.

" Dis Graustark, s fer as I know, is eeder a sort
o State or somet ing belongin to de Umpire, gov
erned by its own rulers. Edelweiss is de capital,
d big guns of d land lives dere. I ve walked out
and saw d castle where d Princess and d royalty
hangs out. D people speak a language of deir
own, and I can t get next to a t ing dey say. But
once in a while you find some guy dat talks French
or German. Dey ve got a little standin army of
two, free t ousand men an dey ve got de hottest
uniforms you ever did see red an black an gold.
I don t see why d United States can t get up some-
thin foxy fer her soldiers to wear. Had a war over
here not long ago, I understand somethin like ten
or fifteen years ago. Dere s another little country
up north of Graustark, and dey got in a wrangle
bout somethin , and dey tell me in Edelweiss dat
for bout a year dey fought like Sam Patch."

" Which was victorious? " demanded Lorry, deeply
interested.

" I m not sure. To hear d Edelweiss people talk
3 T ou d t ink dey licked d daylights out of d other
slobs, but somehow I got next to d fact dat dem
other fellows captured de city an went after a
slashin big war indemnity. I don t know much
bout it, and maybe I m clear off, but I t ink d
Graustark army was t rashed. Everyt ing is pros-

GRAUSTARK 95

perous now, dough, an you d never know dere d
been a war. It s d most peaceable town I ever saw."

" Did you ever hear of the Guggenslockers? "
asked the irrepressible Anguish, and Lorry felt like
kicking him.

"In Edelweiss? Never did. Friends of yours?"

" Acquaintances," interposed Lorry, hastily,
frowning at Anguish.

" You won t have any trouble findin em if dere
anybody at all," said Sitzky, easily. " D hotel peo
ple ought to be able to tell you all bout em."

" By the way, what is the best hotel there? " asked
Anguish.

" Dere s the Burnowentz, one block north of d
depot." The travelers looked at one another and
smiled, Sitzky observing the action. " Oh," he said,
pleasantly, " dere s a swell joint uptown called d
Regengetz. It s too steep fer me, but maybe you
gents can stand it. If you ll hang around d depot
fer a little while after we get in I ll steer you up
dere."

" We ll make it worth your while, Sitzky," said
Lorry.

" Never mind dat, now. Americans ought to stick
together, no matter where dey are. We ll have a
drink an at s all, just to show we re fellow-coun
trymen."

" We ll have several drinks, and we ll eat and
drink to-night at the * swell joint you talk about,"
said Anguish.

" We may drink dere, but I ll not eat dere. Dey

96 GRAUSTARK

wouldn t let a railroad guard inside de fecdin pen.
Why, nothin but royal guys eat dere when dey re
downtown shoppin or exposin demselves to public
gaze."

True to his word, when they reached Edelweiss
late that afternoon Sitzky, their friend of uncertain
origin, hurriedly finished his work and joined the
travelers in the station. Lorry and Anguish were
deeply interested in all they saw, the strange people,
the queer buildings, the odd costumes and the air of
antiquity that prevailed. Once upon the narrow,
clean street they saw that Edelweiss was truly a
city of the mountain-side. They had expected some
thing wonderful, but were not prepared for what
they found. The city actually ran up into the clouds.
There was something so grand, so improbable, so
unusual in the spectacle confronting them that they
stared like children, aghast and stupefied. Each had
the startling impression that a great human-dotted
mountain was falling over upon his head; it was im
possible to subdue the sensation of dizziness that
the toppling town inspired.

" I know how you feel," observed Sitzky, laugh
ing. " I was just d same at first. To-morrow you
walk a little way up d side of d mountain an you ll
see how much of d city dere is on level ground
down here. Dem buildings up dere ain t more n
one-fiftieth part of d town. Dey re mostly sum
mer homes. It gets hot as blazes down here in d
valley in d middle of d summer and d rich ones
move up d mountain."

GRAUSTARK 97

" How in thunder do people get up to those
houses ? " demanded Anguish.

" Mules," answered Sitzky, specifically. " Say !
See dat little old feller comin on horseback wid
d white uniform? Well, dat s de chief of police,
an d fellers behind him are police guards. At s
old Dangloss himself. He s a peach, dey say."

A short, grizzly faced man, attired in a white
uniform with red trimmings, followed by three men
similarly garbed, rode by, going in the direction of
the passenger station. Dangloss, as Sitzky had
called him, was quite small in stature, rather stout,
gray-bearded and eagle-nosed. His face was keen
and red, and not at all the kind to invite familiarity.
As he passed them the railroad guard of American
citizenship touched his cap and the two travelers
bowed, whereupon the chief of police gave them a
most profound salutation, fairly sweeping his sad-
dleskirts with his white cap.

" Polite old codger," observed Anguish.

" His company manners. Just let him get you in
d sweat-box, if you t ink he s polite."

" Ever been there? "

"Well," a little confusedly, "I pasted a Grau-
stark baggage-smasher down in d yards two weeks
ago, an dey had me up. I proved d feller insulted
a lady, an old Dangloss let me off, sayin I d ought
to have a medal. Dcse guys are great on gallantry
when ladies is concerned. It it hadn t been fer dat,
I d be in d lock-up now. An say, you ought to see
d lock-up? It s a tower, wid dungeons an all dat

96 GRAUSTARK

sort of t ing. A man couldn t no more get out V
he could fly up to d monastery. Dey re great on
law an order here, too. D Princess has issued
strictest kind of rules an everybody has to live up
to em like as if dey was real Gospel. I fought I d
put you next, gents, so s you wouldn t be doin any-
t ing crooked here."

" Thanks," said Lorry, dryly. " We shall try to
conduct ourselves discreetly in the city."

Probably a quarter mile farther down the narrow,
level street they came to the bazaars, the gaudy
stores, and then the hotel. It was truly a hostelry
to inspire respect and admiration in the mind of
such as Sitzky, for it was huge and well equipped
with the modern appointments. As soon as the two
Americans had been given their rooms, they sent for
their luggage. Then they went out to the broad
piazza, with its columns and marble balustrades, and
looked for Sitzky, remembering their invitation to
drink. The guard had refused to enter the hotel
with them, urging them to allow him to remain on
the piazza. He was not there when they returned,
but they soon saw him. On the sidewalk he was
arguing with a white-uniformed police guard, and
they realized that he had been ejected from sacred
precincts.

They promptly rescued him from the officer, who
bowed and strode away as soon as they interceded.

" Dese fellers are slick enough to see you are
swells and I m not," said Sitzky. not a bit annoyed
by his encounter. " I ll bet my head at inside ten

GRAUSTARK 99

minutes old Dangloss will know who you are, where
you come from an what you re doin here."

" I ll bet fifty heads he won t find out what we re
doing here," grinned Anguish, looking at Lorry.
" Well, let s hunt up the thirst department."

They found the little apartment in which drinks
were served at tables, and before they said good-bye
to Sitzky in front of the hotel, a half hour later,
that worthy was in exceedingly good humor and
very much flushed in the face. He said he would
be back in two days, and if they needed him for any
purpose whatever, they could reach him by a note at
the railway station.

" Funny how you run across an American in every
nook and corner of the world," mused Lorry, as
they watched the stocky ex-man-o -warsman stroll
off towards his hotel.

" If we can run across the Guggenslockers as eas
ily, we ll be in luck. When shall we begin to hunt?
To-night? "

" We can make a few inquiries concerning them.
They certainly are people of importance here."

" I don t see the name of any of the brewery
signs around town," observed Anguish, consolingly.
" There s evidently no Guggenslocker here."

They strolled through the streets near the hotel
until after six o clock, wondering at the quaint archi
tecture, the pretty gardens and the pastoral atmos
phere that enveloped the city. Everybody was busy,
contented, quiet and happy. There was no bustle
or strife, no rush, no beggars. At six they saw

100 GRAUSTARK

hundreds of workingmen on the streets, going to
their homes ; shops were closed and there came to
their ears the distant boom of cannon, evidently
fired from different points of the compass and from
the highland as well as the lowland.

" The toy army is shooting off the good-night
guns," speculated Anguish. " I suppose everybody
goes to bed now."

" Or to dinner," substituted Lorry, and they re
turned to the Rcgengctz. The dining hall was spaci
ous and beautiful, a mixture of the Oriental and the
mediaeval. It rapidly filled.

"Who the dickens can all these people be? They
look well," Anguish whispered, as if he feared their
nearest neighbors might understand his English.

" They are unquestionably of the class in which
we must expect to find the Guggenslockers."

Before the meal was over the two strangers saw
that they were attracting a great deal of attention
from the other guests of the house. The women,
as well as the men, were eyeing them and comment
ing quite freely, it was easy to sec. These two hand
some, smooth-faced young American were as men
from another world, so utterly unlike their com
panions were they in personal appearance. They
were taller, broader and more powerfully built than
the swarthy-faced men about them, and it was no
wonder that the women allowed admiration to show
in their eyes. Toward the end of the dinner sev
eral officers came in, and the Americans took par
ticular pains to study them. They were cleanly-

GRAUSTARK 101

built fellows, about medium height, wiry and active.
As a class, the men appeared to average five feet
seven inches in height, some a little taller, some a
little shorter. The two strangers were over six
feet tall, broad-shouldered and athletic. They
looked like giants among these Graustark men.

" They re not very big, but they look as if they d
be nasty in a scrap," observed Anguish, uncon
sciously throwing out his chest.

" Strong as wildcats, I ll wager. The women are
perfect, though. Have you ever seen a smarter set
of women, Harry? "

" Never, never ! A paradise of pretty women. I
believe I ll take out naturalization papers."

When the two strangers left the dining-room they
were conscious that every eye in the place was upon
them. They drew themselves to their full height and
strode between the tables toward the door, feeling
that as they were on exhibition they ought to appear
to the best advantage. During the evening they
heard frequent allusions to " The Americans," but
could not understand what was said. The hotel men
were more than obsequious ; the military men and
citizens were exceedingly deferential ; the women who
strolled on the piazza or in the great garden back
of the hotel were discreetly curious.

" We seem to be the whole show here, Gren," said
Anguish, as they sat down at one of the tables in
the garden.

" I guess Americans are rare."

" I ve found one fellow who can speak German

102 GRAUSTARK

and French, and not one, except our guard, who
can talk English. That clerk talks German fairly
well. I never heard such a language as these other
people use. Say, old man, we d better make inquiry
about our friends to-night. That clerk probably
won t be on duty to-morrow."

" We ll ask him before we go to bed," agreed
Lorry, and upon leaving the brilliantly lighted gar
den they sought the landlord and asked if he could
tell them where Caspar Guggenslocker lived. He
looked politely incredulous and thoughtful, and then,
with profound regret, assured them he had never
heard the name. He said he had lived in Edelweiss
all his life, and knew everybody of consequence in the
town.

" Surely there must be such people here," cried
Lorry, almost appealingly. He felt disheartened and
cheated. Anguish was biting his lips.

" Oh, possibly among the poorer classes. If I
were you, sir, I should call on Captain Dangloss,
the Chief of Police. He knows every soul in Edel
weiss. I am positive I have never heard the name.
You will find the Captain at the Tower to-morrow
morning."

The two Americans went to bed, one so dismayed
by his disappointment that he could not sleep for
hours.

VII

THE LADY IN THE CARRIAGE

They slept rather late in the morning, first be
cause they were very much fatigued after their long
journey, second for the reason that they had been
unable to woo slumber until long past midnight.
Anguish stretched himself lazily in bed when he
heard Lorry s voice from the adjoining room.

" I suppose we are to consult the police in order
to get a clue to your charmer," he yawned. " Nice
friends you pick up on railway journeys. I d be
ashamed."

" Well, Harry, I ll confess I m disgusted. This
has been the most idiotic thing I ve ever done, and
if you say the word we ll get out of here on the
first train freight or passenger. The Guggen-
slockers pigs " Mr. Lorry was savage.

" Not a bit of it, my boy, not a bit of it. We ll
make a house-to-house canvass if the police fail us.
Cheer up, cheer up ! "

" You go to thunder ! "

" Hold on ! Don t talk like that, or I ll go back
on you in a minute. I m here because I choose to be,
and I ve more heart in the chase at this minute than
you have. I ve not lost hope. We ll find the Guggen-

103

104- GRAUSTARK

stackers if we have to hire detectives to trace em
from the United States to their very doorstep. We re
going to see the police after breakfast."

After breakfast they did go to see the Baron Dan-
gloss. After some inquiry they found the gloomy,
foreboding prison, and Mr. Anguish boldly pounded
on the huge gates. A little shutter flew open, and
a man s face appeared. Evidently he asked what
was wanted, but he might as well have demanded
their lives, so far were they from understanding his
query.

"Baron Dangloss? " asked Anguish, promptly.
The man asked something else, but as the Ameri
cans shook their heads deprecatingly, he withdrew
his face and presently swung open the gates. They
entered and he closed the doors behind them, lock
ing them in. Then he directed them across the
court to an open door in the aged mass of gray
stone. As they strode away from the guard Lorry
created consternation by demanding:

" How are we to talk to the Chief if he doesn t
understand us or we him? We should have brought
an interpreter."

" I forgot about the confounded language. But
if he s real he can talk Irish." Lorry told him he
wasn t funny.

" Is this His Excellency, Baron Dangloss? " asked
Anguish, stepping into a small room and stopping
suddenly in the presence of the short, fierce man they
had seen the day before. The American spoke in
French.

THE LADY IN THE CARRIAGE 105

" It is, gentlemen. Of what service can I be to
Messieurs Lorry and Anguish? " responded the grim
little Chief, politely rising from beside his desk.
The visitors looked at one another in surprise.

" If he knows our names on such short notice,
he ll certainly know the Guggenlockers," said An
guish to his friend in English.

" Ah, you are looking for some one named Gug-
genslocker? " asked the Chief, smiling broadly and
speaking excellent English. " You must not be sur
prised, gentleman. I speak many languages. I
heard last night that you were inquiring about one
Caspar Guggenslocker, and I have racked my brain,
searched my books, questioned my officers, and I am
sorry to inform you that there is no such person in
Edelweiss."

" I was so well assured of it, Baron Dangloss,"
Lorry said.

" The name is totally unknown to me, sir. May
I ask why you are searching for him? "

" Certainly. I met Mr. Guggenslocker, his wife
and his niece last spring in the United States. They
invited me to come and see them if I ever happened
to be in this part of the world. As my friend and
I were near here I undertook to avail myself of their
invitation."

" And they said they lived in Edelweiss, Grau-
stark?"

" They did, and I ll humbly confess I did not know
much of the principality of Graustark."

" That is certainly complimentar} , but, then, we

106 GRAUSTARK

are a little out of the beaten path, so it is pardon
able. I was at first under the impression that you
were American detectives with extradition papers
for criminals bearing the name you mention."

" Oh i " gasped Anguish. " We couldn t find our
selves if we should be separated, Captain."

The grizzly-bearded Captain laughed lightly with
them, and then asked Lorry if he would object to
giving him the full story of his acquaintanceship
with the alleged Graustarkians. The bewildered and
disheartened American promptly told all he knew
about them, omitting certain tender details, of course.
As he proceeded the Chief grew more and more in
terested, and, when at last Lorry came to the des
cription of the strange trio, he gave a sudden start,
exposed a queer little smile for a second or so, and
then was as sphynxlike as before. The ever-vigilant
Anguish observed the involuntary start and smile,
quick as the Chief had been to recover himself, and
felt a thrill of triumph. To his anger and impati
ence, however, the old officer calmly shook his head
at the end of the narrative, and announced that he
was as much in the dark as ever.

" Well, we ll search awhile for ourselves," declared
Anguish, stubbornly, not at all satisfied.

" You will be wasting your time," said the Chief,
meaningly.

" We ve plenty to waste," retorted the other.

After a few moments they departed, Baron Dan-
gloss accompanying them to the gate and assuring
them that he and his men always would be at their

THE LADY IN THE CARRIAGE 107

command. His nation admired the American peo
ple, he warmly declared.

" That old codger knows our people, and I ll bet
a thousand on it," said Harry, angrily, when they
had gone some little distance down the street. Then
he told of the queer exposure Dangloss had unwit
tingly made. Lorry, more excited than he cared
to show, agreed that there was something very sus
picious about this new discovery.

They walked about the quaint town for an hour
or two, examining the buildings, the people and the
soldiery with deep interest. From the head of the
main street, Castle Avenue, they could plainly
see the royal palace, nearly a mile away. Its towers
and turrets, gray and gaunt, ran up among the green
tree-tops and were outlined plainly against the yel
low hills. Countless houses studded the steep moun
tain slope, and many people were discerned walking
and riding along the narrow, ledge-like streets which
wound toward the summit, far up in the clouds.
Clearly and distinctly could be seen the grim mon
astery, perched at the very pinnacle of the mountain,
several miles away. Up there it looked bleak and
cold and uninviting, in great contrast to the loveli
ness and warmth of the valley. Down below the grass
was moist and soft, trees were approaching the stage
where yellow and red tints mingle with the rich
green, flowers were blooming, the land was redolent
of the sweet fragrance of autumn, the atmosphere
warm, clear and invigorating. It was paradise sur
mounted by desolation, drear and deadening.

108 GRAUSTARK

Wherever the tall, distinguished Americans
walked they formed the center of observation, and
were the cause of comment that bore unmistakable
signs of admiration. They bowed pleasantly to many
of those who passed them, and received in return
gracious and profound recognition. Military men
saluted courteously ; the women stared modestly and
prettily perhaps covetously; the merchants and
citizens in general bowed and smiled a welcome that
could not have been heartier. The strangers re
marked the absence of vehicles on the main streets.
There were pack mules and horses, human carriers
both male and female but during the entire morn
ing they saw not more than six or eight carriages.
Vehicles were used solely by the quality and as a
means of transportation for their persons only.
Everybody, with the few exceptions mentioned, walked
or rode horseback. The two friends were delighted
with the place, and Anguish advocated a sojourn of
several weeks, even though they did not find the Gug-
genslockers, his object being to secure photographs
and sketches of the picturesque people and the
strange scenery, and to idle away some hours upon the
glittering boulevards. Grcnfall, since he was in the
project so deeply, was so nearly reconciled as to be
exhilarated by the plan. They decided to visit the
royal grounds in the afternoon, providing there was
no prohibition, reserving a ride up the hill for the
next day. A gendarme who spoke German fairly well
told them that they could enter the palace park if
they obtained a signed order from the chief steward,

THE LADY IN THE CARRIAGE 109

who might be found at any time in his home near
the gates.

They were strolling leisurely toward the hotel,
for the moment forgetting their quest in this strange,
sunny land, when they espied a carriage, the most
conspicuous of any they had seen. The white horses
were gaily caparisoned, the driver and the footman
beside him wore rich uniforms, the vehicle itself
gleamed and glistened with gold and silver trim
mings. A short distance behind rode two young
soldiers, swords to their shoulders, scabbards clank
ing against their stirrups. Each was attired in the
tight red trousers, shiny boots, close-fitting black
coat with gilt trimmings, and the red cap which the
Americans had noted before because of its brilliancy.
People along the street were bowing deeply to the
occupants, two ladies.

" Harry ! Look ! " exclaimed Lorry, clutching his
friend s arm like a vise. " There in the carriage
on this side ! " His voice was hoarse and trembling.

"Miss Gug Guggenslocker? " cried Anguish.

" Yes ! Yes ! " They had stopped and Lorry was
grasping a garden wall with one hand.

" Then it s funny nobody knows the name here.
She seems to be someone of consequence. Good
heaven, I don t blame you! She s the most beau
tiful "

By this time the carriage was almost opposite
and within forty feet of where they stood. The
ladies, Miss Guggcnslocker s companion as young
and almost as beautiful as herself, had not observed

110 GRAUSTARK

the agitated two, but Lorry s face was beaming, his
hat was off, and he was ready to spring to the car
riage side at a moment s warning. Then the young
girl at the side of the woman whose beauty had
drawn a man half around the world saw the tall
strangers, and called her companion s attention to
them. Once more Grenfall Lorry and Miss Gug-
genslocker were looking into each other s eyes.

The lady started violently, her eyes grew wide,
her lips parted, and her body was bent forward
eagerly, a little gloved hand grasping the side of the
open carriage. Her " ideal American " was bowing
low, as was the tall fellow at his side. When he
looked up again his eyes were glowing, his hand
some face was flushed, and he saw her smile, blush
furiously and incline her head gravely. The car
riage had swept past, but she turned her head, and
he detected an appealing glance in her eyes, a per
plexed wrinkle across her brow, both of which were
swept away an instant later by the most bewitching
of smiles. Again her head was inclined, this time
a trifle more energetically, and then the maddening
face was turned from him. The equipage rolled
onward, and there was no effort on her part to
check its progress. The men were left standing
alone and disappointed on the streets of Edelweiss,
the object of their search slipping away as soon as
she had been found. Her companion was amazed
by the little scene, it was evident, judging by the
eager look on her face as she turned with a question in
her eyes.

THE LADY IN THE CARRIAGE 111

" Turned down ! " exclaimed the irrepressible An
guish, dolefully. " That s pretty shabby treatment,
old man. But she s quite worth the journey."

" I ll not go back to America without her. Do
you hear that, Harry Anguish?" He was excited
and trembling. "But why didn t she stop?" he
went on, dismally.

" Oh, you dear old fool ! " said Anguish.

The two stood looking after the carriage until it
turned into a side street, half way down the shady
stretch toward the castle. They saw her companion
glance back, but could not tell whether she did or
not. Lorry looked uneasily at Anguish, and the
latter read his thought.

" You are wondering about the Guggenslocker
name, eh? I ll tell you what I ve worked out dur
ing the past two minutes. Her name is no more
Guggenslocker than mine is. She and the uncle
used that name as a blind. Mark my words, she s
quality over here ; that s all there is about it. Now,
we must find out just who she really is. Here comes
a smart-looking soldier chap. Let s ask him, pro
viding we can make him understand."

A young soldier approached, leisurely twirling a
cane, for he was without his side arms. Anguish
accosted him in French and then in German. He
understood the latter and was very polite.

" Who was the young lady in the carriage that
just passed? " asked Lorry, eagerly.

The face of the soldier flushed and then grew
pale with anger.

112 GRAUSTARK

" Hold on ! I beg pardon, but we are strangers
and don t quite understand your ways. I can t see
anything improper in asking such a question," said
Anguish, attempting to detain him. The young man
struck his hand from his arm and his eyes fairly
blazed.

" You must learn our ways. We never pass com
ment on a lady. If you do so in your land, I am
sorry for your ladies. I refuse to be questioned by
you. Stand aside, fellow ! "

Anguish stood aside in astonishment, and they
watched the wrathful gallant strut down the street,
his back stiff as a board.

" Damned touchy ! " growled Anguish.

* You remember what Sitzky said about their re
spect for the weaker sex. I guess we d better keep
off that track or we ll hatch up a duel or two. They
seem to be fire-eaters. We must content ourselves
with searching out her home and without assist
ance, too. I ve cooled off a bit, Harry, and, now
that I ve seen her, I m willing to go slowly and de
liberately. Let s take our time and be perfectly
cool. I am beginning to agree with your incog,
proposition. It s all clearing up in my mind now.
We ll go back to the hotel and get ready for the
visit to the palace grounds."

"Don t you intend to hunt her up? Gad, I
wouldn t miss a minute if I had a chance to be with
a girl like that! And the other was no scarecrow.
She is rather a beauty, too. Greatest town for

THE LADY IN THE CARRIAGE 113

pretty women I ever struck. Vienna is out of it
entirely."

They strolled on to the hotel, discussing the en
counter in all its exhilarating details. Scarcely had
they seated themselves on the piazza, after partak
ing of a light luncheon, when a man came galloping
up to the walk in front of the hotel. Throwing his
bridle rein to a guard, he hastened to the piazza.
His attire was that of a groom, and something about
him reminded them of the footman who sat beside
the driver of the carriage they had seen a short time
before. He came straight to where the Americans
sat smoking, and, bowing low, held before them an
envelope. The address was " Grenfall Lorry,
Esq re ," but the man was in doubt as to which was he.

Lorry grasped the envelope, tore it open, and drew
forth a daintily written note. It read:

" My Dear Mr. Lorry :

" I was very much surprised to see you this morn
ing I may add that I was delighted. If you will
accompany this messenger when he calls for you at
three o clock to-morrow afternoon, he will conduct
you to my home, where I shall truly be charmed to
see you again. Will you bring your friend ?

" SOPHIA GUGGENSLOCKER."

Lorry could have embraced the messenger. There
was a suspicion of breathlessness in his voice when
he tried to say calmly to Harry :

" An invitation for to-morrow."

" I knew it would come that way."

" Also wants you to come."

114 GRAUSTARK

"Sha n t I be in the way?"

" Not at all, my boy. I ll accept for you. After
this fellow goes, I ll let you read the note. Wait
until I write an answer."

Motioning for the man to remain, he hastened to
his room, pulled out some stationery, and feverishly
wrote :

" My Dear Miss Gugf*enslocker :

" I shall be delighted to accompany your messen
ger to-morrow, and my friend, Mr. Harry Anguish,
will be with me. I have come half way across the
continent to see you, and I shall be repaid if I am
with you but for a moment. You will pardon me
if I say that your name has caused me despair. No
one seems to have heard it here, and I was begin
ning to lose hope. You may expect me at three,
and I thank you for the pleasure you bestow.
" Yours sincerely,

" GRENFALL LORRY."

This note, part of which had been written with
misgiving, he gave to the messenger, who rode away
quickly.

" She didn t wait long to write to you, I notice. Is
it possible she is suffering from the effects of those
three days on the other side of the Atlantic? Come
to think of it, she blushed when she saw you this
morning," said Anguish. Lorry handed him her
note, which he read, and then solemnly shook hands
with its recipient. " Congratulations. I am a very
far-sighted young man, having lived in Paris."

VIII

THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS

That afternoon they went to the palace grounds
and inquired for the chief steward. After a few
moments they were shown to his office in a small
dwelling house just inside the gates. The steward
was a red-faced little man, pleasant and accommo
dating. He could speak German in fact, he was
a German by birth and they had no difficulty in
presenting their request. Mr. Fraasch Jacob
Fraasch was at first dubious, but their frank,
eager faces soon gained for them his consent to
see that part of the great park open to the public.
Beyond certain lines they were not to trespass. An
guish asked how they could be expected to distin
guish these lines, being unacquainted, and the stew
ard grimly informed them that the members of
the royal guard would establish the lines so plainly
that it would be quite clear.

He then wrote for them a pass to the grounds of
the royal palace of Graustark, affixing his seal. In
giving this pass to them, he found occasion to say
that the Princess had instructed him to extend every
courtesy possible to an American citizen. It was
then that Anguish asked if he might be permitted to

115

116 GRAUSTARK

use his camera. There was an instant and emphatic
refusal, and they were told that the pass would be
rescinded if they did not leave the camera outside
the gates. Reluctantly, Anguish deposited his luck
less box in the steward s office, and they passed
into the broad avenue which led toward the palace.

A guard, who served also as a guide, stepped to
their side befoi-c they had taken ten paces. Where
he came from they never knew, so instantaneous
was his appearance. He remained with them dur
ing the two hours spent in the wonderful park.

The palace stood in the northwestern part of the
grounds, possibly a half mile from the base of the
mountain. Its front faced the mountain side. The
visitors were not permitted to go closer than a quar
ter of a mile from the structure, but attained a posi
tion from which it could be seen in all its massive,
ancient splendor. Anguish, who had studied churches
and old structures, painted the castles on the Rhine,
and was something of a connoisseur in architecture,
was of the opinion that it had been standing for more
than five hundred years. It was a vast, mediaeval mass
of stone, covered with moss and ivy, with towers,
turrets and battlements. There had been a moat in
bygone days, but modern ideas had transformed the
waterway into solid, level ground. This they learned
afterwards. Broad avenues approached in several
directions, the castle standing at the far side of a
wide circle or parade ground. The open space before
the balconies was fully three hundred yards square,
and was paved. From each side stretched the vcl-

THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS 117

vety green with its fountains, its trees, its arbors, its
flowers, its grottos and its red-legged soldiers.

The park was probably a mile square, and was
surrounded by a high wall, on the top of which were
litle guard-houses and several masked cannon. In
all their travels the Americans had not seen a more
delightful bit of artifice, and they wandered about
with a serene content that would have appealed to
anyone but their voiceless guide. He led them about
the place, allowing them to form their own conclu
sions, draw their own inferences and make their
own calculations. His only acts were to salute the
guards who passed and to present arms when he
had conducted his charges to the edge of forbidden
territory. When they had completed their tour of
inspection their guide rapidly led the way to the
wall that encircled the grounds, reaching it at a
point not far from the castle itself. Here was situ
ated another large gate, through which they did
not pass. Instead, they ascended some steps and
came out upon the high wall. The top of this wall
was several feet wide, and walking was compara
tively safe. They soon understood the guide s de
sign. The object was to walk along this wall until
they reached the main gate. Why this peculiar
course was to be taken they could not imagine at
first. Anguish s fertile brain came to the rescue.
He saw a number of women in a distant part of the
grounds, and, remembering their guide s haste in
conducting them to the wall, rightly conjectured
that it was against custom for visitors to meet and

118 GRAUSTARK

gaze upon members of the royal household. The
men and women, none of whom could be plainly
distinguished from the far-away wall, were un
doubtedly a part of the castle s family, and were
not to be subjected to the curious gaze of sight
seers. Perhaps Her Royal Highness, the Princess
of Graustark, was among them.

They reached the main gate and descended, An
guish securing his camera, after which they thanked
the steward and turned to fee the guide. But he
had disappeared as if the ground had swallowed him.

" Well, it s a fair Versailles," observed Anguish,
as they walked down the street, glancing back at the
frowning wall.

" It all goes to make me wonder why in the name
of heaven we have never heard of this land of Grau
stark," said Lorry, still thinking of the castle s gran
deur.

" My boy, there are lots of things we don t know.
We re too busy. Don t you remember that but one-
half the world knows how the other half lives? I ll
wager there are not twenty-five people in the United
States who know there is such a country as Grau
stark."

" I don t believe that a single soul over there has
heard of the place," vouchsafed Lorry, very truth-
fully.

" I ll accept the amendment," said Anguish. Then
he proceeded to take a snap-shot of the castle from
the middle of the street. H also secured a number
of views of the mountain side, of some odd little

THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS 119

dwelling houses, and two or three interesting ex
posures of red-robed children. Everybody, from the
children up, wore loose robes, some red, some black,
some blue, but all in solid colors. Beneath these
robes were baggy trousers and blouses among the
men, short skirts among the women. All wore low
boots and a sort of turban. These costumes, of
course, were confined to the native civilians. At
the hotel the garb of the aristocrats was vastly dif
ferent. The women were gowned after the latest
Viennese patterns, and the men, except those of the
army, wore clothes almost as smart as those which
covered the Americans. Miss Guggenslocker or
whatever her name might be and her carriage com
panion were as exquisitely gowned as any women to
be seen on the boulevards or in Hyde Park of an
afternoon.

It was late in the afternoon when they returned
to the hotel. After dinner, during which they were
again objects of interest, they strolled off towards
the castle, smoking their cigars and enjoying the
glorious air. Being a stranger in a strange land,
Lorry acted on the romantic painter s advice and
also stuck a revolver in his pocket. He laughed at
the suggestion that there might be use for the weapon
in such a quiet, model, well-regulated town, but
Anguish insisted :

" I ve seen a lot of these fellows around town who
look like genuine brigands and cut-throats, and I
think it just as well that we be prepared," asserted

120 GRAUSTARK

he, positively, and his friend gratified what he called
a whim.

At ten o clock the slender moon dropped behind
the mountain, and the valley, which had been touched
with its tender light, gradually took on the sombreness
and stillness of a star-lit night. The town slumbered
at eleven, and there were few lights to be seen in the
streets or in the houses. Here and there strolled
the white-uniformed police guards ; occasionally
soldiers hurried barracks-ward; now and then belated
citizens moved through the dense shadows on the side
walks, but the Americans saw still life in its reality.
Returning from their stroll beside the castle-walls,
far to the west of where they had entered the grounds
that afternoon, they paused in the middle of Castle
Avenue, near the main gate, and looked down the
dark, deserted street. Far away could be seen the
faint glare from their hotel ; one or two street-lamps
burned in the business part of the city ; aside from
these evidences of life there was nothing but dark
ness, silence, peaccfulness about them everywhere.

" Think of Paris or New York at eleven o clock,"
said Lorry, a trifle awed by the solitude of the sleep
ing city.

" It s as dead as a piece of prairie-land," said his
friend. " Gad, it makes me sleepy to look down
that street. It s a mile to the hotel, too, Lorry.
We d better move along."

" Let s lie down near the hedge, smoke another
cigar and wait till midnight. It is too glorious a
night to be lost in sleep," urged Lorry, whose heart-

THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS 121

was light over the joys of the day to come. " I can
dream just as well here, looking at the dark old
castle with its one little tower-light, as I could if I
tried to sleep in a hard bed down at the hotel."

Anguish, who was more or less of a dreamer him
self, consented, and, after lighting fresh cigars, they
threw themselves on the soft, dry grass near the tall
hedge that fenced the avenue as it neared the castle
grounds. For half an hour they talked by fits and
starts ; long silences were common, broken only by
brief phrases which seemed so to disturb the or 2 to
whom they were addressed that he answered gruffly
and not at all politely. Their cigars, burnt to mere
stubs, were thrown away, and still the waking
dreamers stretched themselves in the almost impene
trable shade of the hedge, one thinking of the face
he had seen, the other picturing in his artist eye the
painting he had vowed to create from the moon-lit
castle of an hour ago.

" Some one coming," murmured the painter, half
rising to his elbow attentively.

" Soldiers," said the other briefly. " They ll not
disturb us."

" They ll not even see us, I should say. It s as
dark as Egypt under this hedge. They ll pass if we
keep quiet."

The figures of two men could be seen approaching
from the city, dim and ghostly in the semi-black
ness of the night. Like two thieves, the Americans
waited for them to pass. To their exceeding dis
comfiture, however, the pedestrians halted directly

122 GRAUSTARK

in front of their resting place and seated themselves
leisurely upon a broad, flat stone at the roadside. It
was too dark to see if they were soldiers, notwith
standing the fact that they were less than fifteen
feet away.

" He should be here at twelve," said one of the
newcomers in a low voice and in fairly good Eng
lish. The other merely grunted. There was a silence
of some duration, broken by the first speaker.

" If this job fails and you arc caught it will mean
years of servitude."

" But in that case we are to have ten thousand
gavvos apiece for each year we lie in prison. It s
fair pay not only for our failure, but for our
silence," said the other, whose English was more
difficult to understand.

Anguish s fingers gripped Lorry s leg, but there
was no sound from either of the thoroughly aroused
dreamers. " A plot, as I live," thought each, with a
thrill.

" We must be careful to speak only in English.
There are not twenty people in Edelweiss who un
derstand it, but the night has ears. It is the only
safe tongue. Geddos speaks it well. He should be
here." It was the first speaker who uttered these
words, little knowing that he had listeners other
than the man to whom he spoke.

A dark figure shot across the roadway, and, al
most before the Americans were aware of it, the
party numbered three.

" Ah, Geddos, you are punctual."

THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS 123

" I have found it ever a virtue," responded the
newcomer.

" Have you secured your men? "

" I have your "

" Sh ! Call me Michael, on your life ! They are
ready and willing to undertake the venture ? "

" Yes, but they do not understand the true condi
tions. I have told them that we are to rob the
castle and carry the booty to Ganlook before morn-
ing."

" They do not know the real object of the raid,
then. That is as I desired. Are they trusty and
experienced men? "

" The best or the worst that I could find in
Vienna. Not one understands our language, and
they are so ignorant of our town that they are en
tirely dependent on me. They know nothing what
ever of the Princess, Michael, and will do only as
they are told, realizing that if caught they will be
guillotined. I have told them it is the royal palace
we are to rifle. Ostrom, here, and I, are the only
ones, except yourself and the men who will aid us
inside the castle, who know the truth, sir."

" It cannot fail, unless those inside prove false or
unwortlvy," said the hoarse-voiced Ostrom. An
guish s fingers were gripping Lorry s leg so fiercely
that the blood was ready to burst out, but he did
not feel the pain. Here, then, was some gigantic
plot in which the person of the Princess herself was
to be considered. Was it an assassination?

" You have five of these Viennese? "

GRAUSTARK

"Yes. Two to stand beneath the window to re
ceive the booty as we lower it to the groi/nd, one
to stand guard at the west gate and two to attend
the carriage and horses in the ravine beyond the
castle."

" When did these men arrive? "

" This morning. I kept them in my sister s home
until an hour ago. They are now in the ravine,
awaiting Ostrom and myself. Are you sure, Michael,
that the guards and the cook have been made to
understand every detail? The faintest slip will mean
ruin."

" They are to be trusted fully. Their pay is to
be high enough to make it an object to be infallible.
The guard, Dushan, will leave the gate unwatched,
and you will chloroform him with his consent, of
course. You will enter, as I have explained before,
crawl along the dark shadow of the wall until you
reach the arbor that leads to the kitchen and scullery.
Here another guard, Rabbo known to Ostrom as
a comrade in Her Royal Highness s service not more
than a year ago will be encountered. He will be
bound and gagged without the least noise or strug
gle. Just as the clock strikes two the cook will walk
past the scullery window, in the basement, thrice,
carrying a lighted candle. You will see this light
through the window, and will know that all is well
inside the castle. Ostrom, you will then lead the two
Viennese to a place directly beneath the third window
in the Princess s sleeping apartment. There are
several clumps of shrubbery there, and under these

THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS 125

they will hide, protected from the gaze of any watch
man who is not with us. You and Geddos will be
admitted to the scullery by the cook, who will con
duct you to the hall leading to Her Highness s bed
room. The man who guards her door is called Dan-
nox. He will not be at his post, but will accompany
you when you leave the castle. You will understand
how carefully you must enter her room and how
deeply she must be chloroformed. In the adjoining
room her lady-in-waiting, the Countess Dagmar,
sleeps. If her door is ajar, you are to creep in and
chloroform her, leaving her undisturbed. Then the
Princess is to be wrapped in the cloth you take with
you and lowered from the window to the men below.
They are to remain in hiding until you have left the
castle and have reached their side. It will not be dif
ficult, if caution is observed, for you to get outside of
the wall and to the carriage in the ravine. I have
given you this plan of action before, I know, but I
desire to impress it firmly upon your minds. There
must not be the slighest deviation. The precision of
clockwork is necessary."

The man named Michael hissed the foregoing into
the ears of his companions, the palsied Americans
hearing every word distinctly. They scarcely
breathed, so tremendous was the restraint imposed
upon their nerves. A crime so huge, so daring, as
the abduction of a Princess, the actual invasion of
a castle to commit the theft of a human being just
as an ordinary burglar would steal in and make way

126 GRAUSTARK

with the contents of a silver chest, was beyond their
power of comprehension.

" We understand fully how it is to be done, and
we shall get her to Ganlook on time," said Geddos,
confidently.

" Not a hair of her head must be harmed," cau
tioned the arch-conspirator. " In four days I shall
meet you at Ganlook. You will keep her in close
confinement until you hear from me. Have you
the guards uniforms that you are to wear to-night? "

" They are with the carriage in the ravine ; Os-
trom and I will don them before going to the castle.
In case we are seen, they will throw observers off the
track long enough for us to secure a good start in
our flight."

" Remember, there is to be no failure. This may
mean death to you ; certainly a long prison term if
you are apprehended. I know it is a daring deed,
but it is just the kind that succeeds. Who would
dream that mortal man could find the courage to
steal a Princess of the realm from her bed and
spirit her away from under the very noses of her
vaunted guardsmen? It is the bold, the impossible
plan that wins."

" We cannot fail if your men on the inside do
their work well," said Geddos, repeating what Os-
trom had said. " All depends on their faithfulness."

" They will not be found wanting. Your cut
throats must be sent on to Caias with the empty
carriage after you have reached Ganlook in safety.
You will need them no more. Ostrom will pay them,

THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS 127

and they are to leave the country as quickly as pos
sible. At Caias they will be able to join a pack-
train that will carry them to the Great Northern
Railroad. From there they will have no trouble in
reaching Vienna. You will explain to them, Geddos.
All we need them for, as you know, is to prove by
their mere presence in case of capture that the at
tempt was no more than a case of burglary conceived
by a band of Viennese robbers. There will be no
danger of capture if you once get her outside the
walls. You can be half way to Ganlook before she
is missed from the castle. Nor can she be found at
Ganlook if you follow the instructions I gave last
night. It is now nearly one o clock, and in half an
hour the night will be as dark as Erebus. Go, men;
you have no more time to lose, for this must be ac
complished slowly, carefully, deliberately. There
must be no haste until you are ready for the race to
Ganlook. Go, but for God s sake, do not harm her !
And do not fail! "

" Failure means more to us than to you, Michael,"
half whispered the hoarse Ostrom.

" Failure means everything to me ! I must have
her ! "

Already the two hirelings were moving off to
ward the road that ran west of the castle grounds.
Michael watched them for a moment and then started
swiftly in the direction of the city. The watchers
had not been ible to distinguish the faces of the con
spirators, but they could never forget the calm, cold
voice of Michael, with its quaint, jerky English.

128 GRAUSTARK

"What shall we do?" whispered Anguish, when
the men were out of hearing.

" God knows ! " answered Lorry. " This is the
most damnable thing I ever heard of. Arc we
dreaming? Did we really see and hear those men? "
He had risen to his feet, his companion sitting weakly
before him.

" There s no question about it ! It s a case of ab
duction, and we have it in our power to spoil the
whole job. By Gad, but this is luck, Gren!" An
guish was quivering with excitement as he rose to
his feet. " Shall we notify old Dangloss or alarm
the steward? There s no time to be lost if we want
to trap these fellows. The chief devil is bound to
escape, for we can t get him and the others, too,
and they won t peach on him. Come, we must be
lively! What are you standing there for? Damn
it, the trap must be set ! "

** Wait! Why not do the whole job ourselves? "

" How what do you mean ? "

" Why should we alarm anybody ? We know the
plans as well as these scoundrels themselves. Why
not follow them right into the castle, capture them
red-handed, and then- do the alarming? I m in for
saving the Princess of Graustark with our own hands
and right under the noses of her vaunted guards
men, as Michael says." Lorry was thrilled by the
spirit of adventure. His hand gripped his friend s
arm and his face was close to his ear. " It is the
grandest opportunity two human beings ever had to
distinguish themselves ! "

THE ABDUCTION OF A PRINCESS 129

" Great heaven, man ! We can t do such a thing ! "
gasped Anguish.

" It s the easiest thing in the world. Besides, if
we fail, we have nothing to lose. If we succeed,
see what we ve done ! Don t hesitate, old man !
Come on ! Come on ! We ll take em ourselves, as
sure as fate. Have you no nerve? What kind of an
American are you? This chance won t come in ten
lifetimes ! Good God, man, are we not equal to those
two scoundrels? "

" Two ? There are at least ten of them ! "

" You fool ! The three guards are disposed of in
advance, two of the Viennese are left with the
horses, two are chucked off under the Princess s
window, and one stands at the gate. We can slug
the man at the gate, the fellows under the window
are harmless, and that leaves but our two friends
and the cook. We have every advantage in the
world. Can t you see? "

" You are right ! Come on ! I ll risk it with you.
We will save the Princess of Graustark ! "

" Don t you see it will be just as easy for us to
enter the castle as for these robbers? The way will
be clear, and will be kept clear. Jove, man, we need
not be more than thirty seconds behind them. Is
your pistol all right? "

By this time the two men were speeding along
the grassy stretch toward the road that ran beside
the wall. They looked at their pistols, and placed
them carefully in outside coat pockets.

" We must throw away these heavy canes," whis-

130 GRAUSTARK

percd the painter to his friend, who was a pace or
so ahead.

" Keep it ! We ll need one of them to crack that
fellow s head at the gate. Gad, it s dark along here ! "

" How the devil are we to know where to go? "

" We ll stop when we come to the gate where we
climbed up the wall to-day. That is the only en
trance I saw along the west wall, and it is near the
castle. Just as soon as the gang enters that gate
we ll crawl up and get rid of the fellow who stands
watch."

It was so dark that they could barely see the road
way, and they found it necessary to cease talking
as they slunk along beside the wall. Occasionally
they paused to listen, fearing that they might draw
too close upon the men who had gone before. At
last they came to a big gate and halted.

" Is this the gate? " whispered Anguish.

" Sh ! Yes, I m quite sure. We are undoubtedly
near the castle, judging by the distance we have
come. Let us cross the road and lie directly oppo
site. Be careful ! "

Like panthers, they stole across the road and
down a short, grassy embankment. At Anguish s
suggestion, Lorry wrapped his handkerchief tightly
about the heavy end of his cane, preparing in that
way to deaden the sound of the blow that was to
fall upon the Vienna man s head. Then they threw
aside their hats, buttoned their coats tightly, and
sank down to wait, with bounding hearts and tin
gling nerves, the arrival of the abductors, mutely
praying that they were at the right gate.

IX

THE EXPLOIT OF LORRY AND ANGUISH

During the half hour spent in the grassy ditch
or gutter, they spoke not more than half a dozen
times, and in the faintest of whispers. They could
hear the guard pacing the driveway inside the pon
derous gate, but aside from his footsteps no sound
was distinguishable. A sense of oppression came
over the two watchers as the minutes grew longer
and more deathlike in their stillness. Each found
himself wondering why the leaves did not stir in
the trees, why there were no nightbirds, no crickets,
no croaking frogs, no sign of life save that steady,
clocklike tread inside the wall. So dark was it that
the wall itself was but a deeper shadow against the
almost opaque blackness beyond. No night, it seemed
to them, had ever been so dark, so still. After the
oppression came the strange feeling of dread, the re
sult of an enforced contemplation of the affair in
which they were to take a hand, ignorant of every
thing except the general plan.

They knew nothing of the surroundings. If they
failed, there was the danger of being shot by the
guards before an explanation could be made. If they
succeeded, it must be through sheer good fortune and

181

132 GRAUSTARK

not through prowess of mind or muscle. On<?e in
side the castle, how could they hope to follow the
abductors at a safe distance and still avoid the dan
ger of being lost or running into trusty guards?
The longer they lay there the more hazardous be
came the part they had so recklessly ventured to
play. In the heart of each there surged a growing
desire to abandon the plan, yet neither could bring
himself jo the point of proposing the retreat from
the inspired undertaking. Both knew the sensible,
judicious act would be to alarm the guards and thus
avoid all possible chance of a fiasco. With misgiv
ings and doubts in their hearts the two self-ap
pointed guardians of the Princess lay there upon
the grass, afraid to give up the project, yet fearing
the outcome.

" The dickens will be to pay, Lorry, if they dis
pose of this guard on the inside and lock the gate.
Then how are we to follow? " whispered Anguish.

Lorry was thoughtful for a while. He felt the
chill of discouragement in his heart.

" In that case we must lie outside and wait till
they come out with the Princess. Then make a
sudden assault and rescue her. In the darkness we
can make them think there are a dozen rescuers,"
he whispered at length. After a while Anguish asked
another appalling question, the outgrowth of brain-
racking study:

" Suppose these fellows who will be in guards
uniform, should turn about and capture us. What
then? We are strangers, and our story would not

EXPLOIT OF LORRY AND ANGUISH 133

be believed. They could slip away in the excite
ment and leave us in a very awkward position."

" Harry, if we are going to hatch up all sorts of
possibilities, let s give up the thing right now. I
have though of a thousand contingencies, and I
realize how desperate the job is to be. We must
either cast discretion to the winds or we must re
treat. Which shall we do ? "

" Cast aside discretion and hang our fears," said
the other, once more inspired. " We ll take chances
and hope for the best. If we see we re are going to
fail we can then call for the guards. The grounds
are doubtless full of soldiers. The only part I m
worried about is the groping through that strange,
dark castle."

" We must do some calculating and we must stick
close together. By watching where they station the
two Viennese we can figure about what direction we
must take to get to the Princess s room. Sh ! Isn t
that some one approaching? "

They strained their ears for a moment and
then involuntarily, spasmodically shook hands, each
heaving the deep breath of excitement. The stealthy
rustle of moving bodies was heard, faint, but posi
tive. It was a moment of suspense that would have
strained the nerve of a stone image. Where were
the abductors? On which side of the road and
from what direction did they come? Oh, for the
eyes of a cat?

There was a slight shuffling of feet near the gate,
a suppressed " Sh ! " and then deathly silence. The

134 GRAUSTARK

gate opened, a faint creaking attesting the fact, fol
lowed by the heavy breathing of men, the noise of
subdued activity, the scent of chloroform. Some
whispering, and then the creaking of the gate.

" They ve gone," whispered Anguish. Lorry s
form arose to a crouching posture and a moment
later he was crossing the road with the tread of a
cat, his cane gripped firmly in his hand. Anguish
followed with drawn revolver. So still was their
approach that they were upon the figure of a man
before they were aware of the fact. In the darkness
the foremost American saw the outline of a human
figure bending over a long object on the ground.
He could smell chloroform strongly, and grasped
the situation. The Viennese was administering the
drug, his companions having left that duty for him
to perform. No doubt the treacherous guardsman
was lying calmly on his back, bound and gagged,
welcoming unconsciousness with a smile of security.

As soon as Lorry gained his bearing fully he
prepared to fell the wretch who was to stand watch.
Anguish heard his friend s figure suddenly shoot to
an erect position. A whirring sound as of disturbed
air and then a dull thud. Something rolled over on
the ground, and all was still. He was at Lorry s
side in an instant.

" I hope I haven t killed him," whispered Lorry.
" Quick ! Here is his bottle of ether. Hold it be
neath his nose. I am going to pile the body of this
guard crosswise on top of him. He will not be
able to arise if he should recover consciousness."

EXPLOIT OF LORRY AND ANGUISH 135

All this was done in a moment s time, and the
two trackers were headed for the entrance. The
gate was ajar two or three feet. With turbulent
hearts, they stole through.

" Keep along the wall," whispered Lorry, " and
trust to luck. The castle is to the left."

Without hesitation they crept over the noiseless
grass, close beside the wall. Directly they heard
sounds near at hand. The abductors were binding
and chloroforming the guard at the arbor. After
waiting for some moments they heard the party
glide away in the darkness, and followed. The
body of the guard was lying just outside the mouth
of the arbor, and the odor of chloroform was almost
overpowering. Once inside the long arbor, the
Americans moved slowly and with greater caution.
There was a dim light in a basement window ahead.
Toward the front of the castle and in the second
story a faint glow came from another window.
They guessed it to be from the Princess s room or
from that of the Countess.

At last they saw four figures steal past the dim
basement light. One of them halted near the win
dow, and three crept away in the darkness. Pres
ently one of them returned, and all activity was at
an end for the time being. How near it was to two
o clock the watchers could not tell. They only
knew that they were within twenty-five feet of Ged
dos and Ostrom, and that they would not have long
to wait.

Soon a bright little blaze of light crossed the

136 GRAU STARK

basement opening. Then it returned, crossing a
second time, and a third. All was still again. The
soft shuffle of a foot, the rustle of arbor vines, and
the form of a man crawled up to the window. With
inconceivable stealth and carefulness it glided
through the aperture, followed by a companion.

Lorry and Anguish were at the opening a second
or two later, lying flat on their stomachs and listen
ing for sounds from within. The dim light was still
there, the window was open, and there was a sound
of whispering. Lorry raised his head and peered
through, taking calculations while the light made it
possible. He saw an open door on the opposite side
of the low room, with steps beyond, leading up
ward. Between the window and the door there
were no obstacles. Up those steps he saw three
men creep, the leader carrying the dim light. The
door was left open, doubtless to afford unimpeded
exit from the building in case of emergency. Harry
Anguish touched Lorry s arm.

" I took the two pistols from that Vienna man
out there. We may need them. Here is one for
yourself. Go first, Lorry," he whispered.

Lorry stuck the revolver in his coat pocket and
gently slid through the window to the floor below.
His friend followed, and they paused to listen. Tak
ing Anguish by the hand, the other led the way
straight to the spot where he remembered seeing
the door.

Boldly the two men began the breathless ascent
of the stone steps. The top was reached, and far

EXPLOIT OF LORRY AND ANGUISH 137

ahead, down a narrow hall, they saw the three men
and the dim light moving. Two of them wore uni
forms of guards. Keeping close to the wall, their
followers crept after them. Up another flight of
steps they went, and then through a spacious hall.
The Americans had no time and no desire to inspect
their surroundings. The wide doors at the far side
of the room opened softly, and here the trio paused.
Down a great marble hallway a dim red light shed
its soft glow. It came from the lamp at the foot of
the broad staircase.

The cook pointed to the steps, and then gave his
thumb a jerk toward the left. Without the least
sign of fear, Geddos and Ostrom glided into the
hall and made for the staircase. The watchers could
not but feel a thrill of admiration for these daring
wretches. But now a new danger confronted them.
The cook remained standing in the doorway, watch
ing his fellows in crime! How were they to pass
him?

There was no time to be lost. The abductors were
creeping up the steps already, and the cook must be
disposed of. He had blown out the light which he
carried, and was now a very dim shadow. Lorry
glided forward and in an instant stood before the
amazed fellow, jamming a pistol into his face.

" A sound and you die ! " he hissed.

" Don t move ! " came another whisper, and a sec
ond revolver touched his ear. The cook, perhaps,
did not know their language, but he certainly under
stood its meaning. He trembled, and would have

138 GRAUSTARK

fallen to the floor had not the strong hand of Lorry
pinned him to the wall. The hand was on his throat,
too.

" Chloroform him, Harry, and don t let him make
a sound ! " whispered the owner of the hand. An
guish s twitching fingers succeeded those of his
friend on the cook s throat, his pistol was returned
to his pocket, and the little bottle came again into
use.

" I ll go ahead. Follow me as soon as you have
finished this fellow. Be careful, and turn to the left
when you come to the top."

Lorry was off across the marble floor, headed for
the stairway, and Anguish was left in charge of the
cook, of whom he was to make short work. Now
came the desperate, uncertain part of the transac
tion. Suppose he were to meet the two conspirators
at the head of the stairs, or in the hall, or that the
other traitor, Dannox, should appear to frustrate
all. It was the most trying moment in the whole
life of the reckless Lorry.

When near the top of the steps he hugged the
light balustrade and cautiously peered ahead. He
found himself looking down a long hall, at the far
end of which, to his right, a dim light was burning.
There was no sound and there was no sign of the
two men, either to the right or to the left. His heart
felt Lke lead ! They evidently had entered the
Princess s room! How was he to find that room?
Slowly he wriggled across the broad, dark hall,
straightening up in the shadow of a great post.

EXPLOIT OF LORRY AND ANGUISH 139

From this point he edged along the wall for a dis
tance of ten or twelve feet to the left. A sound
came from farther down the hall, and he imagined
he heard some one approaching.

His hand came in contact with a heavy hanging
or tapestry, and he quickly squirmed behind its
folds, finding himself against a door which moved
as his body touched it. He felt it swing open
slightly and drew back, intending to return to the
hall, uncertain and very much undecided as to the
course to pursue. His revolver was in his hand. Just
as he was about to pull aside the curtain a man glided
past, quickly followed by another. Providence had
kept him from running squarely into them. They
were going toward the left, and he realized that they
were now approaching the Princess s room. How
he came to be ahead of them he could not imagine.
Strange trembling seized his legs, so great was the
relief after the narrow escape. Again he felt the
door move slightly as he pressed against it. The
necessity for a partial recovery of his composure be
fore the next and most important step impelled
him softly to enter the room for an instant s breath.

Holding to the door, he stood inside and drew
himself to his full height, taking a long and tremu
lous breath. There was no light in the room, but
through the door crack to his left came a dim, broad
streak. He now knew where he was. This room
was next to that in which the Princess slept, for had
he not seen the light from her window? Perhaps
he was now in the room of the Countess Dagmar.

140 GRAUSTARK

Next door! Next door! Even now the daring
Geddos and Ostrom were crawling towards the bed
of the ruler of Graustark, not twenty feet away.
His first impulse was to cross and open the door
leading to the next room, surmising that it would be
unlocked, but he remembered Anguish, who was
doubtless, by this time, stealing up the stairs. They
must not be separated, for it would require two
steady, cool heads to deal with the villains. It was
not one man s work. As he turned to leave the
room, he thought how wonderfully well they had
succeeded in the delicate enterprise so far.

His knees struck the door, and there was a dull
thump, not loud in reality, but like the report of a
gun to him. A sudden rustle in the darkness of the
room and then a sleepy voice, soft and quick, as of
a woman awakening with a start.

"Who is it?"

His heart ceased beating, his body grew stiff and
immovable. Again the voice, a touch of alarm in it
now :

" Is that you, Dannox? "

She spoke in German, and the voice came from
somewhere in front and to his right. He could not
answer, could not move. The paralysis of inde
cision was upon him.

* How is it that the outer door is open? "

This time there was something like a reprimand
in the tones, still low. He almost could see the wide-
open, searching eyes.

X

YETIVE

There could be no further hesitation. Something
must be done, and instantly. He gently closed the
door before answering the third question. In his
nervousness he spoke in English, advancing to the
middle of the room. Impossible to see the woman
to whom he hissed this alarming threat he only
could speculate as to its effect :

" If you utter a sound, madam, I shall kill you.
Be calm, and allow me to explain my presence
here ! "

He expected her to shriek, forgetting that she
might not understand his words. Instead there was
a deathly silence. Had she swooned? His heart
was leaping with hope. But she spoke softly again,
tremulously, and in English :

" You will find my jewels on the dressing-table.
Take them and go. You will not hurt me? "

* I am not here to do you injury, but to serve your
Princess," whispered the man. " For God s sake,
do not make an outcry. You will ruin everything.
Will you let me explain? "

"Go! Go! Take anything! I can be calm no
longer. Oh, how can I expect mercy at your

141

GRAUSTARK

hands ! " Her tones were rising to a wail of ter
ror.

"Sh! Do you want to die?" he hissed, striding
to the canopy bed, discernible as his eyes grew ac
customed to the darkness. " I will kill you if you
utter a sound, so help me God ! "
" Oh ! " she moaned.

" Listen ! You must aid me ! Do you hear? "
Another heart-breaking moan. " I am here to
save the Princess. There is a plot to abduct her to
night. Already there are men in the castle, per
haps in her room. You must tell me where she
sleeps. There is no time to be lost. I am no thief,
before God ! I am telling you the truth. Do not
be alarmed, I implore you. Trust me, madam, and
you will not regret it. Where docs the Princess
sleep? " He jerked out these eager, pleading words
quickly, breathlessly.

" How am I to trust you? " came back a whisper
from the bed.

" Here is a revolver ! Take it and kill me if I
attempt the slighest injury. Where are you? " He
felt along the bed with his hand.

" Keep away ! Please ! Please ! " she sobbed.
" Take the pistol ! Be calm, and in heaven s name
help me to save her. Those wretches may have
killed her already ! "

The revolver dropped upon the clothes. He was
bending eagerly over, holding the curtains back.

" My friend is in the hall. We have traced the
men to the Princess s door, I think. My God, be

YETIVE 143

quick! Do you wish to see her stolen from under
your eyes ? "

" You are now in the Princess s room," answered
the voice from the bed, calmer and with some alacrity.
" Is this true that you tell me? "

" As God is my witness ! And you you are the
Princess? " gasped the man, drawing back.

"I am. Where is Dannox? " She was sitting
bolt upright in the bed, the pistol in her trembling
fingers.

" He is one of the conspirators. One of the crooks
and two other guards are in the plot. Can you trust
me enough to leave your bed and hide in another part
of the room? The scoundrels have mistaken the
door, but they may be here at any moment. You
must be quick ! I will protect you I swear it !
Come, your Highness ! Hide ! "

" Something in the fierce, anxious whisper gave
her confidence. The miracle had been wrought!
He had composed this woman under the most try
ing circumstances that could have been imagined.
She slipped from the bed and threw a long, loose
silken gown about her.

" Who are you? " she asked, touching his arm.

" I am a foreigner an American Grenfall
Lorry ! Hurry ! " he implored.

She did not move for a moment, but he distinctly
heard her catch her breath.

" Am I dreaming? " she murmured, faintly. Her
fingers now clutched his arm tightly.

144. GRAUSTARK

" I should say not ! I don t like to order you
around, your Highness, but "

" Come come to the light ! " she interrupted, ex
citedly. " Over here ! "

Noiselessly she drew him across the room until
the light fell across his face. It was not a bright
light, but what she saw satisfied her. He could not
see her face, for she stood outside the strip of dusty
yellow.

" Two men lie beneath your window, and two are
coming to this room. Where shall I go? Come, be
quick, madam ! Do you want to be carted off to
Ganlook? Then don t stand there like a like a
pardon me, I won t say it ! "

" I trust you fully. Shall I alarm the guard? " she
whispered, recovering her self-possession.

" By no means ! I want to catch those devils my
self. Afterwards we can alarm the guards! "

" An ideal American ! " she surprised him by say
ing. " Follow me ! "

She led him to the doorway. " Stand here, and
I will call the Countess. At this side, where it is
dark."

She opened the door gently and stood in the light
for a second. He saw before him a graceful figure
in trailing white, and then he saw her face. She
was Miss Guggenslocker !

" My God ! " he hoarsely gasped, staggering to
ward her. "You! You! The Princess?"

" Yes, I am the Princess, she whispered, smiling
as she glided away from his side. His eyes went

"I M SORRY You ARE THE PRINCESS.

YETIVE 145

round in his head, his legs seemed to be anywhere
but beneath him, he felt as though he were rushing
toward the ceiling. For the moment he was actually
unconscious. Then his senses rushed back, recalling
his mission and his danger.

" She is sleeping so soundly that I fear to awaken
her," whispered a soft voice at his back, and he
turned. The Princess was standing in the door
way.

" Then pray stand back where you will be out of
danger. They will be here in a moment, unless they
have been frightened away."

" You shall not expose yourself," she said, posi
tively. " Why should you risk your life now? You
have accomplished your object. You have saved
the Princess ! "

" Ah yes, the Princess ! " he said. " And I am
sorry you are the Princess," he added, in her ear.

" Sh ! " she whispered, softly.

The door through which he had first come was
softly opened, and they were conscious that some
one was entering. Lorry and the Princess stood in
the dark shadow of a curtain, she close behind his
stalwart figure. He could hear his own heart and
hers beating, could feel the warmth of her body,
although it did not touch his. His heart beat with
the pride of possession, of power, with the knowl
edge that he had but to stretch out his hand and
touch the one woman in all the world.

Across the dim belt of light from the open door
way in which they stood, crawled the dark figure

146 GRAUSTARK

of a man. Her hand unconsciously touched his
back as if seeking reassurance. He shivered be
neath its gentle weight. Another form followed
the first, pausing in the light to look toward their
doorway. The abductor was doubtless remember
ing the instructions to chloroform the Countess.
Then came the odor of chloroform. Oh, if An
guish were only there !

The second figure was lost in the darkness and a
faint glow of light came from the canopied bed in
the corner. The chloroformer, holding the curtains,
had turned his screen-lantern toward the pillow in
order to apply the dampened cloth. Now was the
time to act !

Pushing the Princess behind the curtain and in
the shelter of the door-post, Lorry leaped toward
the center of the room, a pistol in each hand. Be
fore him crouched the astonished desperadoes.

" If you move you are dead men ! " said he, in
slow, decided tones. " Here, Harry ! " he shouted.
" Scoundrels, you are trapped ! Throw up your
hands ! "

Suddenly the room was a blaze of light; flashing
candles, lamps, sprung into life from the walls,
while a great chandelier above his head dazzled him
with its unexpected glare.

" Hell ! " he shouted, half throwing his hands to his
eyes.

Something rushed upon him from behind; there
was a scream and then a stinging blow across the

YETIVE 147

head and neck. As he sank helplessly, angrily, to
his knees he heard the Princess wail :

" Dannox ! Do not strike again ! You have killed
him!"

As he rolled to the floor he saw the two forms
near the bed moving about like shadows ; two red
objects that resembled dancing telegraph poles
leaped past him from he knew not where, and then
there was a shout, the report of a pistol, a horrid
yell. Something heavy crashed down beside him
and writhed. His eyes were closing, his senses were
going, he was numb and sleepy. Away off in the
distance he hear Harry Anguish crying:

" That settles you, damn you ! "

Some one lifted his head from the carpet and a
woman s voice was crying something unintelligible.
He was conscious of an effort on his part to pre
vent the blood from streaming over her gown a
last bit of gallantry. The sound of rushing feet,
shouts, firearms oblivion !

When Lorry regained consciousness he blinked in
abject amazement. There was a dull, whirring
sound in his ears, and his eyes had a glaze over
them that was slow in wearing off. There were
persons in the room. He could see them moving
about and could hear them talking. As his eyes
tried to take in the strange surroundings, a hand
was lifted from his forehead and a soft, dream-like
voice said:

148 GRAUSTARK

" He is recovering, Mr. Anguish. See, his eyes
are open ! Do you know me, Mr. Lorry? "

The unsteady eyes wandered until they fell upon
the face near his pillow. A brighter gleam came
into them, and there was a ray of returning intelli
gence. He tried to speak, but could only move his
lips. As he remembered her, she was in white, and
he was puzzled now to see her in a garment of some
dark material, suggestive of the night or the green
of a shady hillside. There was the odor of roses
and violets and carnations. Then he looked for the
fatal, fearful, glaring chandelier. It was gone.
The room was becoming lighter and lighter as his
eyes grew stronger, but it was through a window
near where he lay. So it was daylight ! Where
was he?

"How do you feel, old man?" asked a familar
voice. A man sat down beside him on the couch or
bed, and a big hand grasped his own. Still he could
not answer.

" Doctor," cried the voice near his head, " you
really think it is not serious ? "

" I am quite sure," answered the man s voice from
somewhere out in the light. " It is a bad cut, and
he is just recovering from the effect of the ether.
Had the blow not been a glancing one his skull
would have been crushed. He will be perfectly con
scious in a short time. There is no concussion, Your
Highness."

" I am so happy to hear you say that," said the
soft voice. Lorry s eyes sought hers and thanked

YETIVE 149

her. A lump came into his throat as he looked up
into the tender, anxious blue eyes. A thrill came
over him. Princess or not, he loved her he loved
her ! " You were very brave oh, so brave ! " she
whispered in his ear, her hand touching his hair
caressingly. " My American !"

He tried to reach the hand before it faded, but
he was too weak. She glided away, and he closed
his eyes again as if in pain.

" Look up, old man ; you re all right," said An
guish. " Smell this handkerchief. It will make you
feel better." A moist cloth was held beneath his
nose, and a strong, pungent odor darted through
his nostrils. In a moment he tried to raise himself
to his elbow. The world was clearing up.

" Lie still a bit, Lorry. Don t be too hasty. The
doctor says you must not."

" Where am I, Harry? " asked the wounded man,
weakly.

" In the castle. I ll tell you all about it pres
ently."

" Am I in her room? "

" No, but she is in yours. You are across the hall
in " here he whispered ** Uncle Caspar s room.
Caspar is a count."

" And she is the Princess truly? "

" What luck ! "

" What misery what misery ! " half moaned the
other.

" Bosh ! Be a man ! Don t talk so loud, either !
There are a half-dozen in the room."

150 GRAUSTARK

Lorry remained perfectly quiet for ten minutes,
his staring eyes fixed on the ceiling. He was think
ing of the abyss he had reached and could not
cross.

" What time is it? " he asked at last, turning his
eyes toward his friend.

" It s just seven o clock. You have been uncon
scious or under the influence of ether for over four
hours. That guard hit you a fearful crack."

" I heard a shot a lot of them. Was any one
killed? Did those fellows escape? "

" Killed ! There have been eight executions be
sides the one I attended to. Lord, they don t wait
long here before handing o/ut justice."

" Tell me all that happened. Was she hurt? "

" I should say not ! Say, Grcn, I have killed a
man. Dannox got my bullet right in the head and
he never knew what hit him. Ghastly, isn t it? I
feel beastly queer. It was he who turned on the
lights and went at you with a club. I heard you
call, and was in the door just as he hit you. His
finish came inside of a second. You and he spoiled
the handsomest rug I ever saw."

"Ruined it?"

" Not in her estimation. I ll wager she has it
framed, blood and all. The stains will always be
there as a reminder of your bravery, and that s what
she says she s bound to keep. She was very much
excited and alarmed about you until the room filled
with men and then she remembered how she was
attired. I never saw anything so pretty as her em-

YETIVE 151

barrassmcnt when the Countess and her aunt led
her into the next room. These people are going out,
so I ll tell you what happened after you left me with
the cook. He was a long time falling under the in
fluence, and I had barely reached the top of the
stairs when I saw Dannox rush down the hall. Then
you called, and I knew the jig was on in full blast.
The door was open, and I saw him strike you. I
shot him, but she was at your side before I could
get to you. The other fellows who were in the
room succeeded in escaping while I was bending
over you, but neither of them shot at me. They
were too badly frightened. I had sense enough left
to follow and shoot a couple of times as they tore
down the stairs. One of them stumbled and rolled
all the way to the bottom. He was unconscious and
bleeding when I reached his side. The other fel
low flew toward the dining hall, where he was
nabbed by two white-uniformed men and throttled.
Other men in white they were regular police of
ficers pounced upon me, and I was a prisoner. By
George, I was knocked off my feet the next minute
to see old Dangloss himself come puffing and blow
ing into the hall, redder and fiercer than ever.
Now I know what you want in Edelweiss ! he
shrieked, and it took me three minutes to convince him
of his error. Then he and some of the men went up to
the Princess s room, while I quickly led the way to
the big gate and directed a half-dozen officers to
ward the ravine. By this time the grounds were
alive with guards. They came up finally with the

152 GRAUSTARK

two fellows who had been stationed beneath the
window and who were unable to find the gate. When
I got back to where you were the room was full of
terrified men and women, half dressed. I was still
dazed over the sudden appearance of the police, but
managed to tell my story in full to Dangloss and
Count Halfont that s Uncle Caspar and then the
chief told me how he and his men happened to be
there. In the meantime, the castle physician was
attending to you. Dannox had been carried away. I
never talked to a more interested audience in my
life ! There was the Princess at my elbow and the
Countess pretty as a picture back of her, all eyes,
both of em ; and there was the old gray-haired lady,
the Countess Halfont, and a half-dozen shivering
maids, with men galore, Dangloss and the Count and
a lot of servants, a great and increasing crowd.
The captain of the guards, a young fellow named
Quinnox, as I heard him called, came in, worried
and humiliated. I fancy he was afraid he d lose his
job. You see, it was this way: Old Dangloss has
had a man watching us all day. Think of it ! Shad
owing us like a couple of thieves. This fellow traced
us to the castle gate and then ran back for reinforce
ments, confident that we were there to rob. In twenty
minutes he had a squad of officers at the gate, the
chief trailing along behind. They found the pile
of tools we had left there, and later the other chap
in the arbor. A couple of guards came charging up
to learn the cause of the commotion, and the whole
crew sailed into the castle, arriving just in time.

YETIVE 153

Well, just as soon as I had told them the full story
of the plot, old Caspar, the chief and the captain
held a short consultation, the result of which I can
tell in mighty few words. At six o clock they took
the whole gang of prisoners down in the ravine and
shot them. The mounted guards are still looking
for the two Viennese who were left with the car
riage. They escaped. About an hour after you
were hurt you were carried over here and laid on
this couch. I want to tell you, Mr. Lorry, you are
the most interesting object that ever found its way
into a royal household. They have been hanging
over you as if you were a new-born baby, and
everybody s charmed because you are a boy and are
going to live. As an adventure, this has been a
record-breaker, my son! We are cocks of the
walk ! "

Lorry was smiling faintly over his enthusiasm.
" You are the real hero, Harry. You saved my
life, and probably hers. I ll not allow you or any
body to give me the glory," he said, pressing the
other s hand.

" Oh, that s nonsense ! Anybody could have
rushed in as I did. I was only capping the climax
you had prepared merely a timely arrival, as the
novels say. There is a little of the credit due me,
of course, and I ll take it gracefully, but I only
come in as an accessory, a sort of bushwhacker who
had only to do the shoot, slap-bang work and close
the act. You did the hero s work. But what do

154 GRAUSTARK

you think of the way they hand out justice over
here? All but two of em dead! "

"Whose plan was it to kill those men?" cried
Lorry, suddenly sitting upright.

" Everybody s, I fancy. They didn t consult me,
though, come to think of it. Ah, here is Her Royal
Higness ! "

The Princess and Aunt Yvonne were at his side
again, while Count Caspar was coming rapidly to
ward them.

" You must not sit up, Mr. Lorry," began the
Princess, but he was crying:

"Did they make a confession, Harry?"

" I don t know. Did they, Unc Count Halfont?
Did they confess? Great heavens, I never thought
of that before."

"What was there to confess?" asked the Count,
taking Lorry s hand, kindly. " They were caught
in the act. My dear sir, they were not even tried."

" I thought your police chief was such a shrewd
man," cried Lorry, angrily.

"What s that?" asked a gruff voice, and Baron
Dangloss was a member of the party, red and pant
ing.

" Don t you know you should not have killed those
men ? " demanded Lorry. They surveyed him in
amazement, except Anguish, who had buried his
face in his hands dejectedly.

"And, sir, I d like to know why not? " blustered
Dangloss.

" And sir, I d like to know, since you have shot

YETIVE 155

the only beings on earth who knew the man that
hired them, how in the name of your alleged justice
are you going to apprehend him? " said Lorry, sink
ing back on his pillow, exhausted.

No reserve could hide the consternation, embar
rassment and shame that overwhelmed a very worthy
but very impetuous nobleman, Baron Jasto Dan-
gloss, chief of the police of Edelweiss. He could
only sputter his excuses and withdraw, swearing to
catch the arch-conspirator or die in the attempt.
Not a soul in the castle, not a being in all Graustark
could offer the faintest clew to the identity of the
man or explain his motive. No one knew a Michael,
who might have been inadvertently addressed as
" your " possible " Highness." The greatest won
der reigned; vexation, uneasiness and perplexity ex
isted everywhere.

Standing there with her head on her aunt s shoul
der, her face grave and troubled, the Princess asked :

"Why should they seek to abduct me? Was it
to imprison or to kill me? Oh, Aunt Yvonne, have
I not been good to my people? God knows I have
done all that I can. I could have done no more. Is
it a conspiracy to force me from the throne? Who
can be so cruel? "

And no one could answer. They could simply
offer words of comfort and promises of protection.
Later in the day gruff Dangloss marched in and
apologized to the Americans for his suspicions con
cerning them, imploring their assistance in running
down the chief villain. And as the hours went by

156 GRAUSTARK

Count Halfont came in and, sitting beside Grenfall,
begged his pardon and asked him to forget the de
ception that had been practiced in the United States.
He explained the necessity for traveling incognito
at that time. After which the Count entered a plea
for Her Royal Highness, who had expressed con
trition and wished to be absolved.

XI

LOVE IN A CASTLE

As the day wore on Lorry grew irritable and rest
less. He could not bring himself into full touch
with the situation, notwithstanding Harry s fre
quent and graphic recollections of incidents that had
occurred and that had led to their present condition.
Their luncheon was served in the Count s room,
as it was inadvisable for the injured man to go to
the dining hall until he was stronger. The court
physician assured him that he would be incapaci
tated for several days, but that in a very short time
his wound would lose the power to annoy him in
the least. The Count and Countess Halfont, An
guish and others came to cheer him and to make
his surroundings endurable. Still he was dissatis
fied, even unhappy.

The cause of his uneasiness and depression was
revealed only by the manner in which it was re
moved. He was lying stretched out on the couch,
staring from the window, his head aching, his heart
full of a longing that knows but one solace. An
guish had gone out in the grounds after assuring
himself that his charge was asleep, so there was no
one in the room when he awakened from a sicken-

157

158 GRAUSTARK

ing dream to shudder alone over its memory. A
cool breeze from an open window fanned his head
kindly; a bright sun gleamed across the trees, turn
ing them into gold and purple and red and green ; a
quiet repose was in all that touched him outwardly ;
inwardly there was burning turmoil. He turned on
his side and curiously felt the bandages about his
head. They were tight and smooth, and he knew
they were perfectly white. How lonely those
bandages made him feel, away off there in Grau-
stark !

The door of his room opened softly, but he did
not turn, thinking it was Anguish always Anguish
and not the one he most desired to

" Her Royal Highness," announced a maid, and
then:

" May I come in? " asked a voice that went to his
troubled soul like a cooling draught to the fevered
throat. He turned toward her instantly, all the irri
tation, all the uneasiness, all the loneliness vanishing
like mist before the sun. Behind her was a lady-in-
waiting.

" I cannot deny the request of a Princess," he re
sponded, smiling gaily. He held forth his hand to
ward her, half fearing she would not take it.

The Princess Yetive came straight to his couch
and laid her hand in his. He drew it to his lips and
then released it lingeringly. She stood before him,
looking down with an anxiety in her eyes that would
have repaid him had death been there to claim his
next breath.

LOVE IN A CASTLE 159

" Are you better? " she asked, with her pretty ac
cent. " I have been so troubled about you."

" I thought you had forgotten me," he said, with
childish petulance.

" Forgotten you ! " she cried, quick to resent the
imputation. " Let me tell you, then, what I have
been doing while forgetting. I have sent to the
Rcgengetz for your luggae and your friends.
You will find it much more comfortable here. You
are to make this house your home as long as you
are in Edelweiss. That is how I have been for
getting."

" Forgive me ! " he cried, his eyes gleaming. " I
have been so lonely that I imagined all sorts of
things. But, Your Highness, you must not expect
us to remain here after I am able to leave. That
would be imposing "

" I will not allow you to say it ! " she objected, de
cisively. " You are the guest of honor in Graustark.
Have you not preserved its ruler? Was it an impo
sition to risk your life to save one in whom you had
but passing interest, even though she were a poor
Princess? No, My American, this castle is yours,
in all rejoicing, for had you not come within its
doors to-day would have found it in mournful ter
ror. Besides, Mr. Anguish has said he will stay a
year if we insist."

" That s like Harry," laughed Lorry. " But I am
afraid you are glorifying two rattle-brained chaps
who should be in a home for imbeciles instead of in
the castle their audacity might have blighted. Our

160 GRAUSTARK

rashness was only surpassed by our phenomenal
good luck. By chance it turned out well; there were
ten thousand chances of ignominious failure. Had
we failed would we have been guests of honor?
No ! We would have been stoned from Graustark.
You don t know how thin the thread was that held
your fate. It makes me shudder to think of the
crime our act might have been. Ah, had I but
known you were the Princess, no chances should
have been taken," he said, fervently.

" And a romance spoiled," she laughed.

" So you are a Princess, a real Princess," he
went on, as if he had not heard her. " I knew it.
Something told me you were not an ordinary
woman "

* Oh, but I am a very ordinary woman," she re
monstrated. " You do not know how easy it is to
be a Princess and a mere woman at the same time.
I have a heart, a head. I breathe and eat and drink
and sleep and love. Is it not that way with other
women? "

" You breathe and eat and drink and sleep and
love in a different world, though, Your Highness."

" Ach ! my little maid, Theresa, sleeps as soundly,
eats as heartily and loves as warmly as I, so a fig
for your argument."

" You may breathe the same air, but would you
love the same man that your maid might love? "

" Is a man the only excuse for love? " she asked.
" If so, then I must say that I breathe and eat and
drink and sleep and that is all."

"IT is MY WILL!"

LOVE IN A CASTLE 161

" Pardon me, but some day you will find that love
is a man, and " here he laughed " you will neither
breathe, nor eat, nor sleep except with him in your
heart. Even a Princess is not proof against a
man."

" Is a man proof against a Princess? " she asked,
as she leaned against the casement.

" It depends on the " he paused " the Princess,
I should say."

" Alas ! There is one more fresh responsibility
required. It seems to me that everything depends
on the Princess," she said, merrily.

" Not entirely," he said, quickly. " A great deal
a very great deal depends on circumstances. For
instance, when you were Miss Guggenslocker it
wouldn t have been necessary for a man to be a
Prince, you know."

" But I was Miss Guggenslocker because a man
was unnecessary," she said, so gravely that he
smiled. " I was without a title because it was more
womanly than to be a freak, as I should have been
had every man, woman and child looked upon me as
a Princess. I did not travel through your land for
the purpose of exhibiting myself, but to learn and
unlearn."

" I remember it cost you a certain coin to learn
one thing," he observed.

" It was money well spent, as subsequent events
have proved. I shall never regret the spending of
that half gawo. Was it not the means of bringing
you to Edelweiss ? "

162 GRAUSTARK

" Well, it was largely responsible, but I am in
clined to believe that a certain desire on my part
would have found a way without the assistance of
the coin. You don t know how persistent an Ameri
can can be."

" Would you have persisted had you known I was
a Princess? " she asked.

" Well, I can hardly tell about that, but you
must remember I didn t know who or what you
were."

" Would you have come to Graustark had you
known I was its Princess ? "

" I ll admit I came because you were Miss Guggen-
slocker."

" A mere woman."

" I will not consent to the word * mere. What
would you think of a man who came half-way across
the earth for the sake of a mere woman? "

" I should say he had a great deal of curiosity,"
she responded, coolly.

" And not much sense. There is but one woman
a man would do so much for, and she could not be
a mere woman in his eyes." Lorry s face was white
and his eyes gleamed as he hurled this bold conclu
sion at her.

" Especially when he learns that she is a Princess ! "
said she, her voice so cold and repellent that his
eyes closed involuntarily, as if an unexpected hor
ror had come before them. " You must not tell me
that you came to see me."

" But I did come to see you and not Her Royal

LOVE IN A CASTLE 163

Highness the Princess Yetive of Graustark. How
was I to know? " he cried, impulsively.

" But you are no longer ignorant," she said, look
ing from the window.

" I thought you said you were a mere woman ! "

" I am and that is the trouble ! " she said, slowly
turning her eyes back to him. Then she abruptly
sank to the window seat near his head. " That is
the trouble, I say. A woman is a woman, although
she be a Princess. Don t you understand why you
must not say such things to me? "

" Because you are a Princess," he said, bitterly.

" No ; because I am a woman. As a woman, I
want to hear them, as a Princess I cannot. Now,
have I made you understand? Have I been bold
enough? " Her face was burning.

" You you don t mean that you " he half

whispered, drawing himself toward her, his face
glowing.

" Ach ! What have I said ? "

" You have said enough to drive me mad with de
sire for more," he cried, seizing her hand, which she
withdrew instantly, rising to her feet.

" I have only said that I wanted to hear you say
you had come to see me. Is not that something for
a woman s vanity to value? I am sorry you have
presumed to misunderstand me? " She was cold
again, but he was not to be baffled.

" Then be a woman and forget that you are a
Princess until I tell you why I came," he cried.

" I cannot. I mean, I will not listen to you," she

164 GRAUSTARK

said, glancing about helplessly, yet standing still
within the danger circle.

" I came because I have thought of you and
dreamed of you since the day you sailed from New
York. God, can I ever forget that day ! "

" Please do not recall " she began, blushing

and turning to the window.

" The kiss you threw to me? Were you a Princess
then?" She did not answer, and he paused for a
moment, a thought striking him which at first he
did not dare to voice. Then he blurted out : " If
you do not want to hear me say these things, why
do you stand there? "

" Oh," she faltered.

" Don t leave me now. I want to say what I came
over here to say, and then you can go back to your
throne and your royal reserve, and I can go back
to the land from which you drew me. I came be
cause I love you. Is not that enough to drag a man
to the end of the world? I came to marry you if I
could, for you were Miss Guggenslocker to me.
Then you were within my reach, but not now ! I
can only love a Princess ! " He stopped because she
had dropped to the couch beside him, her serious
face turned appealingly to his, her fingers clasping
his hands fiercely.

" I forbid you to continue I forbid you ! Do
you hear? I, too, have thought and dreamed of
you, and I have prayed that you might come. But
you must not tell me that you love me you shall
not!"

LOVE IN A CASTLE 165

" I only want to know that you love me," he whis
pered.

" Do you think I can tell you the truth? " she cried.
" I do not love you ! "

Before he had fairly grasped the importance of
the contradictory sentences, she left his side and
stood in the window, her breast heaving and her
face flaming.

" Then I am to believe you do," he groaned, after
a moment. " I find a Princess and lose a woman ! "

" I did not intend that you should have said what
you have, or that I should have told you what I
have. I knew you loved me or you would not have
come to me," she said, softly.

" You would have been selfish enough to enjoy
that knowledge without giving joy in return. I see.
What else could you have done? A Princess! Oh,
I would to God you were Miss Guggenslocker, the
woman I sought ! "

" Amen to that ! " she said. " Can I trust you never
to renew this subject? We have each learned what
had better been left unknown. You understand my
position. Surely you will be good enough to look
upon me ever afterward as a Princess and forget
that I have been a woman unwittingly. I ask you,
for your sake and my own, to refrain from a re
newal of this unhappy subject. You can see how
hopeless it is for both of us. I have said much to
you that I trust you will cherish as coming from a
woman who could not have helped herself and who

166 GRAUSTARK

has given you the power to undo her with a single
word. I know you will always be the brave, true
man my heart has told me you are. You will let the
beginning be the end? "

The appeal was so earnest, so noble that honor
swelled in his heart and came from his lips in this
promise:

" You may trust me, Your Highness. Your secret
is worth a thousand-fold more than mine. It is sacred
with me. The joy of my life has ended, but the
happiness of knowing the truth will never die. I
shall remember that you love me yes, I know you
do, and I shall never forget to love you. I will
not promise that I shall never speak of it again to
you. As I lie here, there comes to me a courage I
did not know I could feel."

" No, no ! " she cried, vehemently.

" Forgive me ! You can at least let me say that as
long as I live I may cherish and encourage a little
hope that all is not dead. Your Highness, let me
say that my family never knows when it is defeated,
either in love or in war."

" The walls which surround the heart of a Prin
cess are black and grim, impenetrable when she de
fends it, my boasting American," she said, smiling
sadly.

" Yet some Prince of the realm will batter down
the wall and win at a single blow that which a mere
man could not conquer in ten lifetimes. Such is the
world."

* The Prince may batter down and seize, but he

LOVE IN A CASTLE 167

Lorry, and there is only a dear friendship between
us," she cried, resuming her merry humor so easily
that he started with surprise and not a little dis
pleasure.

" And a throne," he added, smiling, however.

" And a promise," she reminded him.

" From which I trust I may some day be re
leased," said he, sinking back, afflicted with a dis
couragement and a determination of equal power.
He could see hope and hopelessness ahead.

" By death ! "

" No ; by life ! It may be sooner than you think ! "

" You are forgetting your promise already."

" Your highness s pardon," he begged.

They laughed, but their hearts were sad, this
luckless American and hapless sovereign who would,
if she could, be a woman.

" It is now three o clock the hour when you were
to have called to see me," she said, again sitting un
concernedly before him in the window seat. She
was not afraid of him. She was a Princess.

" I misunderstood you, Your Highness. I re
membered the engagement, but it seems I was mis
taken as to the time. I came at three in the morn-
ing!"

" And found me at home ! "

" In an impregnable castle, with ogres all about."

XII

A WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

Lorry was removed to another room before din
ner, as she had promised.

After they had dined the two strangers were left
alone for several hours. Anguish regaled his friend
with an enthusiastic dissertation on the charms of
the Countess Dagmar, lady-in-waiting to the Prin
cess. In conclusion he said glowingly, his cigar having
been out for half an hour or more because his energy
had been spent in another direction :

" You haven t seen much of her, Lorry, but I tell
you she is rare. And she s not betrothed to any of
these confounded Counts or Dukes either. They all
adore her, but she s not committed."

" How do you know all this ? " demanded Lorry,
who but half heard through his dreams.

" Asked her, of course. How in thunder do you
suppose ? "

"And you ve known her but a day? Well, you
are progressive."

" Oh, perfectly natural conversation, you know,"
explained Anguish, composedly. " She began it by
asking me if I were married, and I said I wasn t

168

A WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 169

even engaged. Then I asked her if she were mar
ried. You see, from the title, you can t tell whether
a Countess is married or single. She said she wasn t,
and I promptly and very properly expressed my
amazement. By Jove, she has a will and a mind of
her own, that young woman has. She s not going
to marry until she finds a man of the right sort
which is refreshing. I like to hear a girl talk like
that, especially a pretty girl who can deal in Princes,
Counts and all kinds of nobility when it comes to
a matrimonial trade. By Jove, I m sorry for the
Princess, though."

" Sorry for the Princess? Why? " asked the other,
alert at once.

" Oh, just because it s not in her power to be so
independent. The Countess says she cries every
night when she thinks of what the poor girl has to
contend with."

" Tell me about it."

" I don t know anything to tell. I m not inter
ested in the Princess, and I didn t have the nerve to
ask many questions. I do know, however, that she
is going to have an unpleasant matrimonial alliance
forced upon her in some way."

" That is usual."

" That s what I gather from the Countess. Maybe
you can pump the Countess and get all you want to
know in connection with the matter. It s a pretty
serious state of affairs, I should say, or she wouldn t
be weeping through sympathy."

Lorry recalled a part of the afternoon s sweetly

170 GRAUSTARK

dangerous conversation and the perspiration stood
cold and damp on his brow.

" Well, old man, you ve chased Miss Guggcn-
slocker to earth only to find her an impossibility.
Pretty hopeless for you, Lorry, but don t let it
break you up completely. We can go back home
after a while and you will forget her. A Countess,
of course, is different."

" Harry, I know it is downright madness for me
to act like this," said Lorry, his jaws set and his
hands clinched as he raised himself to his elbow.
" You don t know how much I love her."

" Your nerve is to be admired, but well, I m sorry
for you."

" Thanks for your sympathy. I suppose I ll need
it," and he sank back gloomily. Anguish was right
absurdly right.

There was a rap at the door and Anguish has
tened to open it. A servant presented Count Hal-
font s compliments and begged leave to call.

" Shall we see the old boy? " asked Harry.

" Yes, yes," responded the other. The servant
understood the sign made by Anguish and disap
peared. " Diplomatic call, I suspect."

" He is the Prime Minister, I understand. Well,
we ll diplome with him until bedtime, if he cares to
stay. I m getting rather accustomed to the nobility.
They are not so bad, after all. Friendly and all

that Ah, good-evening, Your Excellency! We

are honored."

The Count had entered the room and was ad-

A WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 171

vancing toward the couch, tall, easy and the per
sonification of cordiality.

" I could not retire until I had satisfied myself as
to Mr. Lorry s condition and his comfort," said he,
in his broken English. He seated himself near the
couch and bent sharp, anxious eyes on the recum
bent figure.

" Oh, he s all right," volunteered Anguish, readily.
" Be able to go into a battle again to-morrow."

" That is the way with you aggressive Americans,
I am told. They never give up until they are dead,"
said the Count, courteously. " Your head is bet
ter? "

" It does not pain me as it did, and I m sure I ll
be able to get out to-morrow. Thank you very
much for your interest," said Lorry. " May I in
quire after the health of the Countess Halfont?
The excitement of last night has not had an un
pleasant effect, I hope."

" She is with the Princess, and both are quite well.
Since our war, gentlemen, Graustark women have
nothing to acquire in the way of courage and en
durance. You, of course, know nothing of the hor
rors of that war."

" But we would be thankful for the story of it,
Your Excellency. War is a hobby of mine. I read
every war scare that gets into print," said Anguish,
eagerly.

" We, of Graustark, at present have every reason
to recall the last war and bitterly to lament its end
ing. The war occurred just fifteen years ago but

172 GRAUSTARK

will the recital tire you, Mr. Lorry? I came to
spend a few moments socially and not to go into
history. At any other time I shall be "

" It will please and not tire me. I am deeply in
terested. Pray go on," Lorry hastened to say, for
he was interested more than the Count suspected.

" Fifteen years ago Prince Ganlook, of this princi
pality, the father of our Princess, became in
censed over the depredations of the Axphain sol
diers who patrolled our border on the north. He
demanded restitution for the devastation they had
created, but was refused. Graustark is a province
comprising some eight hundred square miles of the
best land in this part of the world. Our neighbor is
smaller in area and population. Our army was bet
ter equipped but not so hardy. For several months
the fighting in the north was in our favor, but the
result was that our forces were finally driven back
to Edelweiss, hacked and battered by the fierce thou
sands that came over the border. The nation was
staggered by the shock, for such an outcome had
not been considered possible. We had been too con-
dent. Our soldiers were sick and worn by six
months of hard fighting, and the men of Edelweiss
the merchants, the laborers and the nobility it
self flew to arms in defense of the city. For over
a month we fought, hundreds of our best and brav
est citizens going down to death. They at last
began a bombardment of the city. To-day you can
see the marks on nearly every house in Edelweiss.
Hundreds of graves in the valley to the south attest

A WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 173

the terrors of that siege. The castle was stormed,
and Prince Ganlook, with many of the chief men
of the land, met death. The Prince was killed in
front of the castle gates, from which he had sallied
in a last brave attempt to beat off the conquerors.
A bronze statue now marks the spot on which he
fell. The Princess, his wife, was my sister, and as
I held the portfolio of finance, it was through me
that the city surrendered, bringing the siege to an
end. Fifteen years ago this autumn the twentieth
of November, to be explicit the treaty of peace
was signed in Sofia. We were compelled to cede a
portion of territory in the far northwest, valuable
for its mines. Indemnity was agreed upon by the
peace commissioners, amounting to 20,000,000 gav-
vos, or nearly $30,000,000 in your money. In fifteen
years this money was to be paid, with interest. On
the twentieth of November, this year, the people of
Graustark must pay 25,000,000 gavvos. The time is
at hand, and that is why we recall the war so vividly.
It means the bankruptcy of the nation, gentlemen."

Neither of his listeners spoke for some moments.
Then Lorry broke the silence.

" You mean that the money cannot be raised? " he
asked.

" It is not in our treasury. Our people have been
taxed so sorely in rebuilding their homes and in re
cuperating from the effect of that dreadful invasion
that they have been unable to pay the levies. You
must remember that we are a small nation and of
limited resources. Your nation could secure $30,-

174 GRAUSTARK

000,000 in one hour for the mere asking. To us it
is like a death blow. I am not betraying a State
secret in telling you of the sore straits in which we
are placed, for every man in the nation has been
made cognizant of the true conditions. We are all
facing it together."

There was something so quietly heroic in his man
ner that both men felt pity. Anguish, looking at the
military figure, asked :

" You fought through the war, Your Excel
lency? "

" I resigned as Minister, sir, to go to the front. I
was in the first battle and I was in the last," he said,
simply.

" And the Princess, the present ruler, I mean,
was a mere child at that time. When did she suc
ceed to the throne? " asked Lorry.

" Oh, the great world does not remember our little
history ! Within a year after the death of Prince
Ganlook, his wife, my sister, passed away, dying of
a broken heart. Her daughter, their only child, was,
according to our custom, crowned at once. She has
reigned for fourteen years, and wisely since assum
ing full power. For three years she has been ruler
de facto. She has been frugal, and has done all
in her power to meet the shadow that is descend-
ing."

" And what is the alternative in case the indemnity
is not paid? " asked Lorry, breathlessly, for he saw
something bright in the approaching calamity.

" The cession of all that part of Graustark lying

north of Edelweiss, including fourteen towns, all of
our mines and our most productive farming and
grazing lands. In that event Graustark will be no
larger than one of the good-sized farms in your
Western country. There will be nothing left for
Her Royal Highness to rule save a tract so small
that the word principality will be a travesty and a
jest. This city and twenty-five miles to the south,
a strip about one hundred and fifty miles long.
Think of it ! Twenty-five by one hundred and fifty
miles, and yet called a principality ! Once the proud
est and most prosperous State in the East, consider
ing its size, reduced to that! Ach, gentlemen gen
tlemen ! I cannot think of it without tearing out a
heart-string and suffering such pains as mortal man
has never endured. I lived in Graustark s days of
wealth, power and supremacy ; God has condemned
me to live in the days of her dependency, weakness
and poverty. Let us talk no more of this unpleas
ant subject."

His hearers pitied the frank, proud old man from
the bottom of their hearts. He had told them the
story with the candor and simplicity of a child, ad
mitting weakness and despondency. Still he sat
erect and defiant, his face white and drawn, his
figure suggesting the famous picture of the stag at
bay.

" Willingly, Your Excellency, since it is distaste
ful to you. I hope, however, you will permit me to
ask how much you are short of the amount," said
Lorry, considerately, yet curiously.

176 GRAUSTARK

" Our Minister of Finance, Gaspon, will be able
to produce fifteen million gavvos at the stated time
far from enough. This amount has been sucked
from the people from excessive levy, and has been
hoarded for the dreaded day. Try as we would, it
has been impossible to raise the full amount. The
people have been bled and have responded nobly,
sacrificing everything to meet the treaty terms hon
orably, but the strain has been too great. Our army
has cost us large sums. We have strengthened our
defenses, and could, should we go to war, defeat
Axphain. But we have our treaty to honor; we
could not take up arms to save ourselves from that
honest bond. Our levies have barely brought the
amount necessary to maintain an army large enough
to inspire respect among those who are ready to
leap upon us the instant we show the least sign of
distress. There are about us powers that have held
aloof from war with us simply because we have
awed them with our show of force. It has been
our safeguard, and there is not a citizen of Grau-
stark who objects to the manner in which State
affairs are conducted. They know that our army is
an economy at any price. Until last spring we were
confident that we could raise the full amount due
Axphain, but the people in the rural districts were
unable to meet the levies on account of the panic
that came at a most unfortunate time. That is why
we were hurrying home from your country, Mr.
Lorry. Gaspon had cabled the Princess that affairs
were in a hopless condition, begging her to come

A WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 177

home and do what she could in a final appeal to the
people, knowing the love they had for her. She
came, and has seen these loyal subjects offer their
lives for her and for Graustark, but utterly unable
to give what they have not money. She asked
them if she should disband the army, and there was
a negative wail from one end of the land to the
other. Then the army agreed to serve on half pay
until all was tided over. Public officers are giving
their services free, and many of our wealthy people
have advanced loans on bonds, worthless as they
may seem, and still we have not the required amount."

" Cannot the loan be extended a few years ? " asked
Lorry, angry with the ruler in the North, taking the
woes of Graustark as much to heart as if they were
his own.

" Not one day ! Not in London, Paris, nor Ber
lin."

Lorry lay back and allowed Anguish to lead the
conversation into other channels. The Count re
mained for half an hour, saying as he left that the
Princess and his wife had expressed a desire to be
remembered to their guests.

" Her Royal Highness spent the evening with the
Ministers of Finance and War, and her poor head,
I doubt not, is racking from the effects of the con
sultation. These are weighty matters for a girl to
have on her hands," solemnly stated the Count, paus
ing for an instant at the door of the apartment.

After he had closed it, the Americans looked long
and thoughtfully at each other, each feeling a re-

178 GRAUSTARK

spcct for the grim old gentleman that they had never
felt for man before.

" So they are in a devil of a shape," mused An
guish. " I tell you, Gren, I never knew anything
that made me feel so badly as does the trouble that
hangs over that girl and her people. A week ago
I wouldn t have cared a rap for Graustark, but to
night I feel like weeping for her."

" There seems to be no help for her, either," said
Lorry, reflectively.

" Graustark, you mean? "

"No I mean yes, of course, who else?" de
manded the other, who certainly had not meant
Graustark.

" I believe, confound your selfish soul, you d like
to see the nation, the crown and everything else,
taken away from this helpless, harassed child. Then
you d have a chance," exclaimed Anguish, pacing
the floor, half angrily, half encouragingly^

" Don t say that, Harry, don t say that. Don t
accuse me of it, for I ll confess I had in my heart
that meanest of longings the selfish, base, heartless
hope that you have guessed. It hurts me to be ac
cused of it though, so don t do it again, old man.
I ll put away the miserable hope, if I can, and I ll
pray God that she may find a way out of the diffi
culty."

They went to sleep that night, Anguish at once,
Lorry not for hours, harboring a determination to
learn more about the condition of affairs touching
the people of Graustark and the heart of their
Princess.

XIII

UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY

For two days Lorry lived through intermittent
stages of delight and despondency. His recovery
from the effects of the blow administered by Dan-
nox was naturally rapid, his strong young constitu
tion coming to the rescue bravely. He saw much
of the Princess, more of the Countess Dagmar, and
made the acquaintance of many lords and ladies for
whom he cared but little except when they chose to
talk of their girlish ruler. The atmosphere of the
castle was laden with a depression that could not
be overcome by an assimilated gaiety. There was
the presence of a shadow that grew darker and
nearer as the days went by, and there were anxious
hearts under the brave, proud spirits of those who
held the destiny of Graustark in their hands.

The Princess could not hide the trouble that had
sprung up in her eyes. Her laugh, her gay conver
sation, her rare composure and gentle hauteur were
powerless to drive away the haunted, worried gleam
in those expressive eyes of blue. Lorry had it on
his tongue s end a dozen times during the next day
or so after the Count s narrative to question her
about the condition of affairs as they appeared to
her. He wondered whether she, little more than a

179

180 GRAUSTARK

girl, could see and understand the enormity of the
situation that confronted her and her people. A
strange, tender fear prevented him from speaking
to her of the thing which was oppressing her life.
Not that he expected a rebuff from her, but that
he could not endure the thought of hearing her
brave, calm recital of the merciless story. He knew
that she could narrate it all to him more plainly than
had her uncle. Something told him that she was
fully aware of the real and underlying conditions.
He could see, in his imagination, the proud, resigned
face and manner of this perplexed Princess, as she
would have talked to him of her woes, and he could
also picture the telltale eyes and the troubled ex
pression that would not be disguised.

The Countess Dagmar, when monopolized by the
very progressive, or aggressive, Anguish, unfolded
to Lorry certain pages in the personal history of the
Princess, and he, of course, encouraged her con
fidential humor, although there was nothing encour
aging in it for him.

Down by the great fountain, while the soldiers
were on parade, the fair but volatile Countess un
folded to Lorry a story that wrenched his heart so
savagely that anger, resentment, helplessness and love
oozed forth and enveloped him in a multitude of emo
tions that would not disperse. To have gone to the
Princess and laid down his life to save her would have
given him pleasure, but he had promised something
to her that could not be forgotten in a day. In his
swelling heart he prayed for the time to come when

UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY 181

he could take her in his arms, cancel his promise and
defy the troubles that opposed her.

" She will not mind my telling you, because she
considers you the very best of men, Mr. Lorry,"
said the Countess, who had learned her English
under the Princess Yetive s tutor. The demure,
sympathetic little Countess, her face glowing with
excitement and indignation, could not resist the de
sire to pour into the ears of this strong and resource
ful man the secrets of the Princess, as if trusting to
him, the child of a powerful race, to provide relief.
It was the old story of the weak appealing to the
strong.

It seems, according to the very truthful account
given by the lady, that the Princess had it in her
power to save Graustark from disgrace and practi
cal destruction. The Prince of Axphain s son,
Lorenz, was deeply enamoured of her, infatuated by
her marvelous beauty and accomplishments. He
had persuaded his father to consider a matrimonial
alliance with her to be one of great value to Ax-
phain. The old Prince, therefore, some months be
fore the arrival of the Americans in Graustark, sent
to the Princess a substitute ultimatum, couched in
terms so polite and conciliatory that there could be
no mistaking his sincerity. He agreed to give Grau
stark a new lease of life, as it were, by extending
the fifteen years, or, in other words, to grant the
conquered an additional ten years in which to pay
off the obligations imposed by the treaty. He fur
thermore offered a considerable reduction in the

182 GRAUSTARK

rate of interest for the next ten years. But he had
a condition attached to this good and gracious propo
sition ; the marriage of Graustark s sovereign. His
Ambassador set forth the advantages of such an
alliance, and departed with a message that the mat
ter should have most serious consideration.

The old Prince s proposition was a blow to the
Princess, who was placed in a trying position. By
sacrificing herself she could save her country, but
in so doing her life was to be plunged into intermi
nable darkness. She did not love, nor did she re
spect Lorenz, who was not favorably supplied with
civilized intelligence. The proposition was laid be
fore the Cabinet and the nobility by the Princess her
self, who said that she would be guided by any de
cision they might reach. The counsellors, to a man,
refused to sacrifice their girlish ruler, and the people
vociferously ratified the resolution. But the Prin
cess would not allow them to send an answer to
Axphain until she could see a way clear to save her
people in some other manner. An embassy was
sent to the Prince of Dawsbergen. His domain
touched Graustark on the south, and he ruled a
wild, turbulent class of mountaineers and herdsmen.
The embassy sought to secure an endorsement of
the loan from Prince Gabriel sufficient to meet the
coming crisis. Gabriel, himself smitten by the charms
of the Princess, at once offered himself in marriage,
agreeing to advance, in case she accepted him, twenty
million gavvos, at a rather high rate of interest, for
fifteen years. His love for her was so great that he

UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY 183

would pawn the entire principality for an answer
that would make him the happiest man on earth.
Now, the troubled Princess abhorred Gabriel. Of
the two, Lorenz was much to be preferred. Gabriel
flew into a rage upon the receipt of this rebuff, and
openly avowed his intention to make her suffer. His
infatuation became a mania, and, up to the very
day on which the Countess told the story, he persisted
in his appeals to the Princess. In person he had
gone to her to plead his suit, on his knees, grovelling
at her feet. He went so far as to exclaim madly in
the presence of the alarmed but relentless object of
his love that he would win her or turn the whole
earth into everything unpleasant.

So it was that the Princess of Graustark, erst
while Miss Guggenslocker, was being dragged
through the most unhappy affairs that ever beset a
sovereign. Within a month she was to sign away
two-thirds of her domain, transforming multitudes
of her beloved and loving people into subjects of the
hated Axphain, or to sell herself, body and soul, to
a loathsome bidder in the guise of a suitor. And,
with all this confronting her, she had come to the
realization of a truth so sad and distracting that it
was breaking her tortured heart. She was in love
but with no royal Prince! Of this, however, the
Countess knew nothing, so Lorry had one great se
cret to cherish alone.

"Has she chosen the course she will pursue?"
asked Lorry, as the Countess concluded her story.
His face was turned away.

184. GRAUSTARK

" She cannot decide. We have wept together over
this dreadful, this horrible thing. You do not know
what it means to all of us, Mr. Lorry. We love her,
and there is not one in our land who would sacrifice
her to save this territory. As for Gabriel, Grau-
stark would kill her before she should go to him.
Still, she cannot let herself sacrifice those Northern
subjects when by a single act she can save them.
You see, the Princess has not forgotten that her
father brought this war upon the people, and she
feels it her duty to pay the penalty of his error,
whatever the cost."

" Is there no other to whom she can turn no
other course?" asked Lorry.

" There is none who would assist us, bankrupt as
we are. . There is a question I want to ask, Mr.
Lorry. Please look at me do not stare at the
fountain all the time. Why have you come to Edel
weiss?" She asked the question so boldly that his
startled embarrassment was an unspoken confession.
He calmed himself and hesitated long before an
swering, weighing his reply. She sat close beside
him, her clear gray eyes reading him like a book.

" I came to see a Miss Guggenslocker," he an
swered at last.

"For what purpose? There must have been an
urgent cause to bring you so far. You are not an
American banker? "

" I had intended to ask her to be my wife," he
said, knowing that secrecy was useless and seeing a
faint hope.

UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY 185

" You did not find Miss Guggenslocker."

" No. I have not found her."

" And are you going home disappointed, Mr.
Lorry, because she is not here? "

" I leave the answer to your tender imagination."

There was a long pause.

" May I ask when you expect to leave Graustark? "
she asked, somewhat timidly.

"Why do you wish to know? " he asked in turn.

" Because I know how hopeless your quest has
been. You have found Miss Guggenslocker, but
she is held behind a wall so strong and impregnable
that you cannot reach her with the question you
came to ask. You have come to that wall, and
now you must turn back. I have asked, how soon? "

" Not until your Princess bids me take up my load
and go. You see, my lady, I love to sit beneath the
shadow of the wall you describe. It will require a
royal edict to compel me to abandon my position."

" You cannot expect the Princess to drive you
from her country, you who have done so much
for her. You must go, Mr. Lorry, without her bid-
ding."

"I must?"

" Yes, for your presence outside that wall may
make the imprisonment all the more unendurable for
the one your love cannot reach. Do you understand
me? "

" Has the one behind the wall instructed you to
say this to me? " he asked, miserably.

" She has not. I do not know her heart, but I am

186 GRAUSTARK

a woman and have a woman s foresight. If you
wish to be kind and good to her, go ! "

" I cannot ! " he exclaimed, his pent feelings burst
ing forth. " I cannot go ! "

" You will not be so selfish and so cruel as to in
crease the horror of the wreck that is sure to come,"
she said, drawing back.

" You know, Countess, of the life-saving crews
who draw from the wrecks of ships lives that were
hopelessly lost. There is to be a wreck here; is
there to be a life-saver? When the night is
darkest, the sea wildest, when hope is gone, is not
that the time when rescue is most precious? Tell me,
you know all there is of this approaching dis
aster? "

" I cannot command you to leave Edelweiss ; I
can only tell you that you will have something to
answer for if you stay," said the Countess.

" Will you help me if I show you that I can reach
the wreck and save the one who clings to it despair
ingly? " he asked, smiling, suddenly calm and con
fident.

" Willingly, for I love the one who is going down
in the sea. I have spoken to you seriously, though,
and I trust you will not misunderstand me. I like
you and I like Mr. Anguish. You could stay here
forever so far as I am concerned."

He thought long and intently over what she had
said as he smoked his cigar on the great balcony
that night. In his heart he knew he was adding

UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY 187

horror, but that persistent hope of the life-saver
came up fresh and strong to combat the argument.
He saw, in one moment, the vast chasm between the
man and the Princess ; in the next, he laughed at the
puny space.

Down on the promenade he could see the figures
of men and women strolling in the moonlight. To
his ears came the occasional laugh of a man, the
silvery gurgle of a woman. The royal military
band was playing in th ; stand near the edge of the
great circle. There was gaiety, comfort, charm and
security about everything that came to his eyes and
ears. Was is possible that this peace, unruffled, was
so near its end?

He smiled as he heard Harry Anguish laugh gaily
in his good old way, his ringing tones mingling with
a woman s. There was no trouble in the hearts of
the Countess and his blithe comrade. Behind him
rose the grim castle walls, from the windows of
which, here and there, gleamed the lights of the
night. Where was she? He had seen her in the
afternoon and had talked with her, had walked with
her. Their conversation had been bright, but of
the commonplace kind. She had said nothing to
indicate that she remembered the hour spent beside
his couch a day or so before; he had uttered none
of the words that struggled to rush from his lips,
the questions, the pleadings, the vows. Where was
she now? Not in that gay crowd below, for he had
scanned every figure with the hawk s eye. Closeted
again, no doubt, with her Ministers, wearying her

188 GRAUSTARK

tired brain, her brave heart into fatigue without
rest.

Her court still trembled with the excitement of
the daring attempt of the abductors and their swift
punishment. Functionaries flocked to Edelweiss to
inquire after the welfare of the Princess, and indig
nation was at the highest pitch. There were theories
innumerable as to the identity of the arch-conspira
tor. Baron Dangloss was at sea completely. He
cursed himself and everybody else for the hasty and
ill-timed execution of the hirelings. It was quite
evident that the buzzing wonder and intense feeling
of the people had for the moment driven out all
thought of the coming day of judgment and its bit
ter atonement for all Graustark. To-day the castle
was full of the nobility, drawn to its walls by the
news that had startled them beyond all expression.
The police were at work, the military trembled with
rage, the people clamored for the apprehension of
the man who had been the instigator of this audacity.
The general belief was that some brigand chief from
the South had planned the great theft for the pur
pose of securing a fabulous ransom. Grenfall Lorry
had an astonishing theory in his mind, and the more
he thought it over the more firmly it was imbedded.

The warm, blue coils from the cigar wafted awav
into the night, carrying with them a myriad of
tangled thoughts, of her, of Axphain, of the ab
ductor, of himself, of everything. A light step on
the stone floor of the shadowy balcony attracted his
attention. He turned his head and saw the Prin-

UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY 189

cess Yetive. She was walking slowly toward the
balustrade, not aware of his presence. There was
no covering for the dark hair, no wrap about the
white shoulders. She wore an exquisite gown of
white, shimmering with reflections from the moon
that scaled the mountain top. She stood at the bal
ustrade, her hands clasping a bouquet of red roses,
her chin lifted, her eyes gazing toward the moun
tain s crest, the prettiest picture he had ever seen.
The strange dizziness of love overpowered him. His
hungry eyes glanced upward towards the sky which
she was blessing with her gaze, and beheld another
picture, gloomy, grim, cheerless.

Against the moonlit screen of the universe clung
the black tower of that far-away monastery in the
clouds, the home of the monks of Saint Valentine.
Out of the world, above the world, a part of the
sky itself, it stood like the spectre of a sentinel whose
ghostly guardianship appalled and yet soothed.

He could not, would not, move. To have done so
meant the desecration of a picture so delicate that
a breath upon its surface would have swept it for
ever from the vision. How long he revelled in the
glory of the picture he knew not, for it was as if he
looked from a dream. At last he saw her look
down upon the roses, lift them slowly and drop them
over the rail. They fell to the ground below. He
thought he understood; the gift of a Prince de
spised.

They were not twenty feet apart. He advanced
to her side, his hat in one hand, his stick the one

190 GRAUSTARK.

that felled the Viennese trembling in the other.

" I did not know you were here," she exclaimed,
in half frightened amazement. " I left my ladies
inside."

He was standing beside her, looking down into
the eyes.

" And I am richer because of your ignorance," he
said, softly. " I have seen a picture that shall never
leave my memory never ! Its beauty enthralled,
enraptured. Then I saw the drama of the roses.
Ah, your Highness, the crown is not always a
mask."

" The roses were were of no consequence," she
faltered.

" I have heard how you stand between two suitors
and that wretched treaty. My heart ached to tell
you how I pity you."

" It is not pity I need, but courage. Pity will not
aid me in my duty, Mr. Lorry. It stands plainly
before me, this duty, but I have not the cour
age to take it up and place it about my neck for
ever."

"You do not, cannot love this Lorenz? " he
asked.

" Love him ! " she cried. " Ach, I forget ! You do
not know him. Yet I shall doubtless be his wife."
There was an eternity of despair in that low, steady
voice.

"You shall not! I swear you shall not!"

" Oh, he is a Prince ! I must accept the offer that
means salvation to Graustark. Why do you make

UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY 191

it harder with torture which you think is kindness.
Listen to me. Next week I am to give my answer.
He will be here, in this castle. My father brought
this calamity upon Graustark; I must lift it from
the people. What has my happiness to do with
it?

Her sudden strength silenced him, crushed him with
the real awakening of helplessness. He stood beside
her, looking up at the cold monastery, strangely
conscious that she was gazing toward the same dizzy
height.

" It looks so peaceful up there," she said at last.

" But so cold and cheerless," he added, drearily.
There was another long silence in which two hearts
communed through the medium of that faraway sen
tinel. " They have not discovered a clue to the chief
abductor, have they? " he asked, in an effort to re
turn to his proper sphere.

" Baron Dangloss believes he has a clue a meager
and unsatisfactory one, he admits and to-day sent
officers to Ganlook to investigate the actions of a
strange man who was there last week, a man who
styled himself the Count of Arabazon, and who
claimed to be of Vienna. Some Austrians had been
hunting stags and bears in the North, however, and
it is possible he is one of them." She spoke slowly,
her eyes still bent on the home of the monks.

" Your Highness, I have a theory, a bold and per
haps a criminal theory, but you will allow me to tell
you why I am possessed of it. I am aware that
there is a Prince Gabriel. It is my opinion that no

192 GRAUSTARK

Viennese is guilty, nor are the brigands to be ac
cused of this masterpiece in crime. Have you thought
how far a man may go to obtain his heart s desire? "

She looked at him instantly, her eyes wide with
growing comprehension, the solution to the mystery
darting into her mind like a flash.

" You mean " she began, stopping as if afraid
to voice the suspicion.

" That Prince Gabriel is the man who bought your
guards and hired Geddos and Ostrom to carry you
to the place where he could own you, whether you
would or no," said Lorry.

" But he could never have forced me to marry him,
and I should, sooner or later, have exposed him,"
she whispered, argumentatively. " He could not ex
pect me to be silent and submit to a marriage under
such circumstances. He knows that I would de
nounce him, even at the altar."

" You do not appreciate my estimate of that gen
tleman."

" What is to become of me ! " she almost sobbed,
in an anguish of fear. " I see now I see plainly !
It was Gabriel, and he would have done as you say."
A shudder ran through her figure, and he tenderly
whispered in her car:

" The danger is past. He can do no more, Your
Highness. Were I positive that he is the man and
I believe he is I would hunt him down this night."

Her eyes closed happily under his gaze, her hand
dropped timidly from his arm and a sweet sense of
security filled her soul.

UNDER MOON AND MONASTERY 193

** I am not afraid," she murmured.

" Because I am here? " he asked, bending nearer,

" Because God can bless with the same hand that
punishes," she answered, enigmatically, lifting her
lashes again, and looking into his eyes with a love
at last unmasked. " He gives me a man to love and
denies me happiness. He makes of me a woman,
but He does not unmake me a Princess. Through
you, He thwarts a villain; through you, He crushes
the innocent. More than ever, I thank you for
coming into my life. You and you alone, guided
by the God who loves and despises me, saved me
from Gabriel."

" I only ask " he began, eagerly, but she in
terrupted.

" You should not ask anything, for I have said I
cannot pay. I owe to you all I have, but cannot pay
the debt."

" I shall not again forget," he murmured.

" To-morrow, if you like, I will take you over the
castle and let you see the squalor in which I exist,
my throne room, my chapel, my banquet hall, my
ball room, my conservatory, my sepulchre. You
may say it is wealth, but I shall call it poverty," she
said, after they had watched the black monastery cut
a square corner from the moon s circle.

" To-morrow, if you will be so kind."

" Perhaps I may be poorer after I have saved
Graustark," she said.

" I would to God I could save you from that ! " he
said.

194 GRAUSTARK

" I would to God you could," she said. Her man
ner changed suddenly. She laughed gaily, turning
a light face to his. "I hear your friend s laugh
out there in the darkness. It is delightfully in
fectious."

XIV

THE EPISODE OF THE THEONE ROOM

" This is the throne room. Allode ! "

The Princess Yetive paused before two massive
doors. It was the next afternoon, and she had
already shown him the palace of a Queen the hovel
of a pauper !

Through the afternon not one word other than
those which might have passed between good friends
escaped the lips of either. He was all interest, she
all graciousness. Allode, the sturdy guard, swung
open the doors, drew the curtain, and stood aside
for them to pass. Into the quiet hall she led him, a
Princess in a gown of gray, a courtier in tweeds.
Inside the doors he paused.

" And I thought you were Miss Guggenslocker,"
he said. She laughed with the glee of a child who
had charmed and delighted through surprise.

" Am I not a feeble mite to sit on that throne and
rule all that comes within its reach? She directed
his attention to the throne at the opposite end of the
hall. " From its seat I calmly instruct gray-haired
statesmen, weigh their wisdom and pass upon it as
if I were Demosthenes, challenge the evils that may

195

196 GRAUSTARK

drive monarchs mad, and wonder if my crown is on
straight."

" Let me be Ambassador from the United States
and kneel at the throne, Your Highness."

" I could not engage in a jest with the crown my
ancestors wore, Mr. Lorry. It is sacred, thou
thoughtless American. Come, we will draw nearer,
that you may see the beauty of the workmanship in
that great old chair."

They stood at the base of the low, velveted stage
on which stood the chair, with its high back, its
massive arms and legs ashimmer in the light from
the lofty windows. It was of gold, inlaid with
precious stones diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sap
phires and other wondrous jewels a relic of an
cient Graustark.

" I never sit in the center. Always at one side or
the other, usually leaning my elbow on the arm. You
see, the discussions are generally so long and dreary
that I become fatigued. One time, I am ashamed
to confess it, I went to sleep on the throne. That
was long ago. I manage to keep awake very well
of late. Do you like my throne room? "

" And to think that it is yours ! "

" It is this room that gives me the right to be
hailed with * Long live the Princess ! Not with cam
paign yells and * Hurrah for Yetive ! How does
that sound? * Hurrah for Yetive! She was
laughing merrily.

"Don t say it! It sounds sacrilegious revolt-
ing!"

EPISODE OF THE THRONE ROOM 197

" For over three years since I was eighteen I
have been supreme in that chair. During the years
of my reign prior to that time I sat there with my
Uncle Caspar standing beside me. How often I
begged him to sit down with me! There was so
much room and he certainly must have grown tired
of standing. One time I cried because he frowned
at me when I persisted in the presence of a great
assemblage of nobles from Dawsbergen. It seems
that it was a most important audience that I was
granting, but I thought more of my uncle s tired
old legs. I remember saying, through my sobs of
mortification, that I would have him beheaded. You
are to guess whether that startling threat created
consternation or mirth."

" What a whimsical little Princess you must have
been, weeping and pouting and going to sleep," he
laughed. " And how sedate and wise you have be
come."

" Thank you. How very nice you are. I have felt
all along that some one would discern my effort to
be dignified and sedate. They say I am wise and
good and gracious, but that is to be expected. They
said that of sovereigns as far back as the deluge,
I ve heard. Would you really like to see rne in that
old chair? " she asked.

" Ah, you are still a woman," he said, smiling at
her pretty vanity. " Nothing could impress me more
pleasantly."

She stepped carelessly and impulsively upon the
royal platform, leaned against the arm of the throne,

198 GRAUSTARK

and with the charming blush of consciousness turned
to him with the quickness of a guilty conscience,
eager to hear his praise but fearful lest he secretly
condemned her conceit. His eyes were burning with
the admiration that knows no defining, and his
breath came quick and sharp through parted lips.
He involuntarily placed a foot upon the bottom step
as if to spring to her side.

" You must not come up here ! " she cried, shrink
ing back, her hands extended in fluttering remon
strance. " I cannot permit that, at all ! "

" I beg your pardon," he cried. " That is all the
humble plebeian can say. That I may be more
completely under this fairy spell, pray cast about
yourself the robe of rank and take up the sceptre.
Perhaps I may fall upon my face."

" And hurt your head all over again," she said,
laughing nervously. She hesitated for a moment,
a perplexed frown crossing her brow. Then she
jerked a rich robe from the back of the throne and
placed it about her shoulders as only a woman can.
Taking up the sceptre, she stood before the great
chair, and, with a smile on her lips, held it above his
head, saying softly:

" Graustark welcomes the American Prince."

He sank to his knees before the real Princess,
kissed the hem of her robe and arose with face pal
lid. The chasm was now endless in its immensity.
The Princess gingerly seated herself on the throne,
placed her elbow on the broad arm, her white chin

GRAUSTARK WELCOMES THE AMERICAN PRINCK."

EPISODE OF THE THRONE ROOM 199

in her hand, and tranquilly surveyed the voiceless
American Prince.

" You have not said, * Thank you, " she said,
finally, her eyes wavering beneath his steady gaze.

" I am only thinking how easy it would be to cross
the gulf that lies between us. With two movements
of my body I can place it before you, with a third
I can be sitting at your side. It is not so difficult,
after all," he said hungrily eyeing the broad chair.

" No man, unless a Prince, ever sat upon this
throne," she said.

" You have called me a Prince."

" Oh, I jested," she cried quickly, comprehending
his intention. " I forbid you ! "

Her command came too late, for he was beside
her on the throne of Graustark ! She sat perfectly
rigid for a moment, intense fear in her eyes.

" Do you know what you have done ? " she whis
pered, miserably.

" Usurped the throne," he replied, assuming an
ease and complacence he did not feel. Truly he was
guilty of unprecedented presumption.

" You have desecrated desecrated ! Do you
hear ? " she went on, paying no attention to his re
mark.

" Peccavi. Ah, Your Highness, I delight in my
sin. For once I am a power; I speak from the
throne. You will not have me abdicate in the zenith
of my glory? Be kind, most gracious one. Be
sides, did you not once cry because your uncle re
fused to sit with you? Had he been the possessor

200 GRAUSTARK

x)f a dangerous wound, as I am, and had he found
himself so weak that he could stand no longer, I
am sure he would have done as I have sat down
in preference to falling limp at your feet. You do
not know how badly I am wounded," he pleaded,
with the subtlest double meaning.

" Why should you wound me? " she asked, plain
tively. " You have no right to treat the throne I
occupy as a subject for pranks and indignities. I
did not believe you could be so forgetful." There
was a proud and pitiful resentment in her voice
that brought him to his senses at once. He had
defiled her throne. In shame and humiliation, he
cried :

" I am a fool an ingrate. You have been too
gentle with me. For this despicable act of mine I
cannot ask pardon, and it would be beneath you to
grant it. I have hurt you, and I can never atone. I
forgot how sacred is your throne. Let me depart in
disgrace." He stood erect, as if to forsake the
throne he had stained, but she, swayed by a com
plete reversal of feeling, timidly, pleadingly, touched
his arm.

" Stay! It is my throne, after all. I shall divide
it, as well as the sin, with you. Sit down again, I
beg of you. For a brief spell I would rule beside
a man who is fit to be a King, but who is a desecra-
tor. There can be no harm, and no one shall be the
wiser for this sentimental departure from royal
custom. We are children, anyhow mere children."

With an exclamation of delight, he resumed his

EPISODE OF THE THRONE ROOM 201

position beside her. His hand trembled as he took
up hers to carry it to his lips. " We are children
playing with fire," he murmured, this ingrate, this
fool!

She allowed her hand to lie limply in his, her head
sinking to the back of the chair. When her hand
was near his feverish lips, cool and white and trust
ing, he checked the upward progress. Slowly he
raised his eyes to study her face, finding that hers
were closed, the semblance of a smile touching her
lips, as if they were in a happy dream.

The lips ! The lips ! The lips ! The madness of
love rushed into his heart; the expectant hand was
forgotten ; his every hope and every desire meas
ured themselves against his discretion as he looked
upon the tempting face. Could he kiss those lips but
once his life would be complete.

With a start, she opened her eyes, doubtless at the
command of the masterful ones above. The eyes
of blue met the eyes of gray in a short, sharp strug
gle, and the blue went down in surrender. His lips
triumphed slowly, drawing closer and closer, as if
restrained and impelled by the same emotion arro
gant love.

" Open your eyes, darling," he whispered, and she
obeyed. Then their lips met her first kiss of love !

She trembled from head to foot, perfectly power
less beneath the spell. Again he kissed a Princess
on her throne. At this second kiss her eyes grew
wide with terror, and she sprang from his side, stand
ing before him like one bereft of reason.

202 GRAUSTARK

" Oh, my God ! What have you done? " she wailed.
He staggered to his feet, dizzy with joy.

" Ha ! " cried a gruff voice from the doorway, and
the guilty ones whirled to look upon the witness to
their blissful crime. Inside the curtains, with car
bine leveled at the head of the American, stood
Allode, the guard, his face distorted by rage. The
Princess screamed and leaped between Lorry and
the threatening carbine.

" Allode ! " she cried, in frantic terror.

He angrily cried out something in his native tongue
and she breathlessly, imploringly replied. Lorry
did not understand their words, but he knew that she
had saved him from death at the hand of her loyal,
erring guard. Allode lowered his gun, bowed low
and turned his back upon the throne.

" He he would have killed you," she said, tremu
lously, her face the picture of combined agony and
relief. She remembered the blighting kisses and the
averted disaster.

" You what did you say to him ? " he asked.

" I I oh, I will not tell you," she cried.

" I beg of you ! "

" I told him that he was to was to put down his
gun."

" I know that, but why? " he persisted.

" I Ach, to save you, stupid ! "

" How did you explain the the : He hesi
tated, generously.

" I told him that I had not been that I had not
been "

EPISODE OF THE THRONE ROOM 203

" Say it ! "

" That I had not been off ended ! " she gasped,
standing stiff and straight, with eyes glued upon the
obedient guard.

i( You were not? " he rapturously cried.

" 1 said it only to save your life ! " she cried, turn
ing fiercely upon him. * I shall never forgive you !
Never ! You must go you must leave here at once !
Do you hear? I cannot have you near me now I
cannot see you again. Ach, God! What have I
given you the right to say of me? "

" Stop ! It is as sacred as "

" Yes, yes I understand ! I trust you, but you
must go ! Find some excuse to give your friend
and go to-day ! Go now ! " she cried, intensely, first
putting her hands to her temples, then to her eyes.

Without waiting to hear this remonstrance, if in
deed he had the power to utter one, she glided swiftly
toward the curtains, allowing him to follow at his
will. Dazed and crushed at the sudden end to every
thing, he dragged his footsteps after. At the door
she spoke in low, imperative tones to the motionless
Allode, who dropped to his knees and muttered a
reverential response. As Lorry passed beneath the
hand that held the curtain aside, he glanced at the
face of the man who had been witness to their weak
ness. He was looking straight ahead, and, from his
expression, it could not have been detected that he
knew there was a man on earth save himself. In the
hall, she turned to him, her face cold and pale.

" I have faithful guards about me now. Allode

204 GRAUSTARK

has said he did not see you in the throne room. He
will die before he will say otherwise," she said, her
lips trembling with shame.

" By your command? "

" By my request. I do not command my men to
lie."

Side by side they passed down the quiet hall,
silent, thoughtful, the strain of death upon their
hearts.

" I shall obey the only command you have given,
then. This day I leave the castle. You will let
me come again to see you? There can be no
harm

" No ! You must leave Graustark at once ! " she
interrupted, the tones low.

" I refuse to go ! I shall remain in Edelweiss, near
you, just so long as I feel that I may be of service
to you."

" I cannot drive you out as I would a thief," she
said, pointedly.

At the top of the broad staircase he held out his
hand and murmured:

" Good-bye, Your Highness ! "

" Good-bye," she said, simply, placing her hand
in his after a moment s hesitation. Then she left
him.

An hour later the two Americans, one strangely
subdued, the other curious, excited and impatient,
stood before the castle waiting for the carriage.
Count Halfont was with them, begging them to re
main, as he could see no reason for the sudden leave-

"GOOD BYE, MY AMERICAN."

EPISODE OF THE THRONE ROOM 205

taking. Lorry assured mm that they had trepassed
long enough on the court s hospitality, and that he
would fed much more comfortable at the hotel. An
guish looked narrowly at his friend s face, but said
nothing. He was beginning to understand.

" Let us walk to the gates. The Count will oblige
us by instructing the coachman to follow," said
Lorry, eager to be off.

"Allow me to join you in the walk, gentlemen,"
said Count Caspar, immediately instructing a lackey
to send the carriage after them. He and Lorry
walked on together, Anguish lingering behind, hav
ing caught sight of the Countess Dagmar. That
charming and unconventional piece of nobility
promptly followed the Prime Minister s example and
escorted the remaining guest to the gate.

Far down on the walk Lorry turned for a last
glance at the castle from which love had banished
him. Yetive was standing on the balcony, looking
not at the monastery but at the exile.

She remained there long after the carriage had
passed her gates, bearing the Americans swiftly over
the white Castle Avenue, and there were tears in
her eyes.

XV

THE BETROTHAL

Harry Anguish was a discreet, forbearing fellow.
He did not demand a full explanation of his friend.
There was enough natural wit in his merry head
to see that in connection with their departure there
was something that would not admit of discussion,
even by confidential friends. He shrewdly formed
his own conclusions and held his peace. Nor did
he betray surprise when Lorry informed him, in an
swer to a question, that he intended to remain in
Edelweiss for some time, adding that he could not
expect him to do likewise if he preferred to return
to Paris. But Mr. Anguish preferred to remain in
Edelweiss. Had not the Countess Dagmar told
him she would always be happy to see him at the
castle, and had he any reason to renounce its walls?
And so it was that they tarried together.

Lorry loitered aimlessly, moodily about the town,
spending gloomy days and wretched nights. He rea
soned that it were wisdom to fly, but a force stronger
than reason held him in Edelweiss. He ventured
several times to the castle wall, but turned back
resolutely. There was hope in his breast that she

206

THE BETROTHAL 207

might send for him ; there was, at least, the possibility
of seeing her should she ride through the streets.
Anguish, on the other hand, visited the castle daily.
He spent hours with the pretty Countess, undismayed
by the noble moths that fluttered about her flame, and
he was ever persistent, light-hearted and gay. He
brought to Lorry s ears all that he could learn of
the Princess. Several times he had seen her and had
spoken with her. She inquired casually after the
health of his friend, but nothing more. From the
Countess he ascertained that Her Highness was sleep
ing soundly, eating heartily and apparently enjoy
ing the best of spirits information decidedly irritat
ing to the one who received it second-hand.

They had been at the hotel for over a week when
one afternoon Anguish rushed into the room, out
of breath and scarcely able to control his excite
ment.

" What s up? " cried Lorry. " Has the Countess
sacked you ? "

" Not on your coin ! But something is up, and I
am its discoverer. You remember what you said
about suspecting Prince Gabriel of being the chief
rascal in the abduction job? Well, my boy, I am
now willing to stake my life that he is the man."
The news-bearer sat down on the edge of the bed
and drew the first long breath he had had in a long
time.

" Why do you think so? " demanded the other, all
interest.

" Heard him talking just now. I didn t know who

208 GRAUSTARK

the fellow was at first, but he was talking to some
strange-looking soldiers as I passed. As soon as I
heard his voice I knew he was Michael. There isn t
any question about it, Lorry. I am positive. He
didn t observe me, but I suppose by this time he has
learned that his little job was frustrated by two
Americans who heard the plot near the castle gates.
He has nerve to come here, hasn t he? "

" If he is guilty, yes. Still, he may feel secure be
cause he is a powerful Prince and able to resent
any accusation with a show of force. Where is he
now? "

" I left him there. Come on ! We ll go down and
you can see for yourself."

They hurried to the corridor, which was swarming
with men in strange uniforms. There were a few
Graustark officers, but the majority of the buzzing
conversationalists were dressed in a rich gray uni
form.

" Who are these strangers ? " asked Lorry.

" Oh, I forgot to tell you. Prince Lorcnz is also
here, and these gray fellows are a part of his reti
nue. Lorenz has gone on to the castle. What s the
matter? " Lorry had turned pale and was reaching
for the wall with unsteady hand.

" He has come for his answer," he said, slowly,
painfully.

" That s right ; I hadn t thought of that. I hope
she turns him down. But there s Gabriel over yon
der. See those three fellows in blue? The middle
one is the Prince."

THE BETROTHAL 209

Near the door leading to the piazza stood several
men, gray and blue. The man designated as Gabriel
was in the center, talking gaily and somewhat loudly,
puffing at a cigarette between sentences. He was
not tall, but he was strongly and compactly built.
His hair and cropped beard were as black as coal,
his eyes wide, black and lined. It was a pleasure-
worn face, and Lorry shuddered as he thought of
the Princess in the power of this evil-looking wretch.
They leisurely made their way to a spot near the
talkers. There was no mistaking the voice. Prince
Gabriel and Michael were one and the same, beyond
all doubt. But how to prove it to the satisfaction
of others? Skepticism would follow any attempt to
proclaim the Prince guilty because his voice sounded
like that of the chief conspirator. In a matter where
whole nations were concerned the gravest impor
tance would be attached to the accusation of a ruler.
Satisfying themselves as to the identity of that
peculiar voice, the friends passed through to the
piazza.

" What s to be done? " asked Anguish, boiling over
with excitement.

" We must go to Baron Dangloss, tell him of
our positive discovery, and then consult Count Hal-
font."

" And Her Royal Highness, of course."

" Yes, I suppose so," said Lorry, flicking the ashes
from his cigar with a finger that was not steady. He
was serving the Princess again.

They hurried to the Tower, and were soon in the

210 GRAUSTARK

presence of the fierce little Chief of Police. Lorry
spent many hours with Dangloss of late, and they
had become friends. His grim old face blanched
perceptibly as he heard the assertions of the young
men. He shook his head despairingly.

" It may be as you say, gentlemen, but I am afraid
we can do nothing. To charge a Prince with such
a crime on such evidence would be madness. I am
of your belief, however. Prince Gabriel is the man
I have suspected. Now I am convinced. Before
we can do anything in such a grave matter it will
be necessary to consult the Princess and her Min
isters. In case we conclude to accuse the Prince of
Dawsbergen, it must be after careful and judicious
thought. There are many things to consider, gen
tlemen. For my part, I would be overjoyed to seize
the villain and to serve him as we did his tools, but
my hands are tied, you see. I would suggest that
you go at once to the Princess and Count Halfont,
tell them of your suspicions "

" Not suspicions, my lord, facts," interrupted
Anguish.

" Well, then, facts, and ascertain how they feel
about taking up a proposition that may mean war.
May I ask you to come at once to me with their an
swer. It is possible that they will call for a consulta
tion with the Ministers, nobles and high officers.
Still, I fear they will be unwilling to risk much on
the rather flimsy proof you can give. Gabriel is
powerful, and we do not seek war with him. There
is another foe for whom we are quietly whetting

THE BETROTHAL 211

our swords." The significant remark caused both
listeners to prick up their ears. But he disappointed
their curiosity, and they were left to speculate as to
whom the other foe might be. Did he mean that
Graustark was secretly, slyly making ready to resist,
treaty or no treaty?

It required prolonged urging on the part of An
guish to persuade Lorry to accompany him to the
castle, but, when once determined to go before the
Princess with their tale, he was eager, impatient to
cross the distance that lay between the hotel and
the forbidden grounds* They walked rapidly down
Castle Avenue and were soon at the gates. The
guard knew them, and they were admitted without
a word. As they hurried through the park, they
saw many strange men in gray, gaudy uniforms,
and it occurred to Lorry that their visit, no matter
how great its importance, was ill-timed. Prince
Lorenz was holding the center of the stage.

Anguish, with his customary impulsiveness, over
ruled Lorry s objections, and they proceeded toward
the entrance. The guards of the Princess saluted
profoundly, while the minions of Lorenz stared with
ill-bred wonder upon these two tall men from an
other world. It could be seen that the castle was
astir with excitement, subdued and pregnant with
thriving hopes and fears. The nobility of Grau
stark was there; the visitors of Axphain were being
entertained.

At the castle doors the two met their first ob-

212 GRAUSTARK

stacle, but they anticipated its presence. Two guards
halted them peremptorily.

" We must see Her Royal Highness," said An
guish, but the men could not understand him. They
stoically stood their ground, shaking their heads.

" Let us find some one who can understand us,"
advised Lorry, and in a few moments they presented
themselves before the guards, accompanied by a
young nobleman with whom they had acquaintance.
He succeeded in advancing them to the reception
hall inside the doors and found for them a servant
who would carry a message to the Princess if it
were possible to gain her presence. The nobleman
doubted very much, however, if the missive hastily
written by Lorry could find its way to her, as she
had never been so occupied as now.

Lorry, in his brief note, prayed for a short audi
ence for himself and Mr. Anguish, requesting that
Count Halfont be present. He informed her that
his mission was of the most imperative nature and
that it related to a discovery made concerning the
Prince who had tried to abduct her. In conclusion,
he wrote that Baron Dangloss had required him to
lay certain facts before her and that he had come
with no intention to annoy her.

While they sat in the waiting-room they saw,
through the glass doors, dozens of richly attired men
and women in the hall beyond. They were con
versing animatedly, Graustark men and women with
dejected faces, Axphainians with exultation glowing
in every glance. Lorry s heart sank within him. It

THE BETROTHAL 213

seemed hours before the servant returned to bid
them follow him. Then his blood leaped madly
through veins that had been chilled and lifeless. He
was to see her again !

Their guide conducted them to a small ante-room,
where he left them. A few moments later the door
opened and there swept quickly into the room the
Countess Dagmar, not the Princess. Her face was
drawn with the trouble and sorrow she was trying
so hard to conceal. Both men were on their feet in
an instant, advancing to meet her.

"The Princess? Is she ill?" demanded Lorry.

" Not ill, but mad, I fear," answered she, giving
a hand to each. " Mr. Lorry, she bids me say to you
that she cannot see you. She appreciates the impor
tance of your mission and thanks you for the interest
you have taken. Also, she authorizes me to assure
you that nothing can be done at present regarding
the business on which you come."

" She refuses to see us," said he, slowly, his face
whiter than ever.

" Nay ; she begs that you will excuse her. Her
Highness is sorely worn and distressed to-day, and
I fear cannot endure all that is happening. She is
apparently calm and composed, but I, who know her
so well, can see the strain beneath."

" Surely she must see the urgency of quick action
in this matter of ours," cried Anguish, half angrily.
" We are not dogs to be kicked out of the castle. We
have a right to be treated fairly

" We cannot censure the Princess, Harry," said

214 GRAUSTARK

Lorry, calmly. " We have come because we would
befriend her, and she sees fit to reject our good
offices. There is but one thing left for us to do
depart as we came."

"But I don t like it a little bit," growled the
other.

" If you only knew, Mr. Anguish, you would not
be so harsh and unjust," remonstrated the lady
warmly. Turning to Lorry, she said: " She asked
me to hand you this and bid you retain it as a token
of her undying esteem."

She handed him a small, exquisite miniature of
the Princess, framed in gold inlaid with rubies. He
took it dumbly in his fingers, but dared not look at
the portrait it contained. With what might have
seemed disrespect, he dropped the treasure into his
coat pocket.

" Tell her I shall always retain it as a token of
her esteem," he said. " And now may I ask whther
she handed my note to her uncle, the Count ? "

The Countess blushed in a most unaccountable
manner

" Not while I was with her," she said, recovering
the presence of mind she apparently had lost.

" She destroyed it, I presume," said he, laughing
harshly.

" I saw her place it in her bosom, sir, and with
the right hand," cried the Countess, as if betraying
a State secret.

* k In her you are telling me the truth ? " cried he,
his face lighting up.

THE BETROTHAL 215

" Now, see here, Lorry, don t begin to question
the Countess s word. I won t stand for that," inter
posed Anguish, good-humoredly.

" I should be more than base to say falsely that
she had done anything so absurd," said the Countess,
indignantly.

"Where is she now?" asked Lorry.

" In her boudoir. The Prince Lorenz is with
her alone."

"What!" he cried, jealousy darting into his ex
istence. He had never known jealousy before.

" They are betrothed," said she, with an effort.
There was a dead silence, broken by Lorry s deep
groan as he turned and walked blindly to the oppo
site side of the room. He stopped in front of a huge
painting and stared at it, but did not see a line or a
tint.

" You don t mean to say she has accepted? " half
whispered Anguish.

" Nothing less."

" Thank God, you are only a Countess," he said,
tenderly.

" Why why what difference can it make I
mean, why do you say that? " she stammered, crim
son to her hair.

" Because you won t have to sell yourself at a sac
rifice," he said, foolishly. Lorry came back to them
at this junction, outwardly calm and deliberate.

" Tell us about it, pray. We had guessed as
much."

" Out there are his people, the wretches ! " she

216 GRAUSTARK

cried, vindictively, her pretty face in a helpless
frown. " To-day was the day, you know, on which
he was to have his answer. He came and knelt in
the audience chamber. All Graustark had implored
her to refuse the hated offer, but she bade him rise,
and there, before us all, promised to become his
bride.

" The greatest sorrow Graustark has ever known
grows out of that decision. She is determined to
save for us what her father s folly lost. To do this,
she becomes the bride of a vile wretch, a man who
soils her pure nature when he thinks of her. Oh,
we sought to dissuade her, we begged, we entreated,
but without avail. She will not sacrifice one foot of
Graustark to save herself. See the triumphant
smiles on their faces the brutes ! " She pointed
maliciously to the chattering visitors in the hall.
" Already they think the castle is theirs. The union
of Graustark and Axphain ! Just what they most
desired, but we could not make her see it so."

" Is the day set? " asked Lorry, bravely, after a
moment s silent inspection of the dark-browed victors.

" Yes, and there is to be no delay. The marriage
contract has already been signed. The date is No
vember 20th, the day on which we are to account to
Bolaroz for our war debt. The old Prince s wed
ding gift to Graustark is to be a document favoring
us with a ten years extension," she said, scorn
fully.

"And where is she to live?"

" Here, of course. She is Graustark s ruler, and

THE BETROTHAL 217

here she insists on abiding. Just contemplate our
court ! Over-run with those Axphain dogs ! Ah,
she has wounded Graustark more than she has helped
her."

There was nothing more to be said or done, so,
after a few moments, the Americans took their de
parture. The Countess bade them farewell, saying
that she must return to the Princess.

" I ll see you to-morrow," said Anguish, with rare
assurance and the air of an old and indispensable
friend.

" And you, Mr. Lorry? " she said, curiously.

" I am very much occupied," he mumbled.

" You do wrong in seeking to deceive me," she
whispered, as Anguish passed through the door ahead
of them. " I know why you do not come."

"Has she told you?"

" I have guessed. Would that it could have been
you and not the other."

" One cannot be a man and a Prince at the same
time, I fancy," he said, bitterly.

" Nor can one be a Princess and a woman."

Lorry recalled the conversation in the sick-room
two weeks before, and smiled ironically. The friendly
girl left them at the door and they passed out of the
castle.

" I shall leave Edelweiss to-morrow," said one,
more to himself than to his companion, as they
crossed the parade. The other gave a start and did
not look pleased. Then he instinctively glanced to
ward the castle.

218 GRAUSTARK

" The Princess is at her window," he cried, clutch
ing Lorry s arm and pointing back. But the other
refused to turn, walking on blindly.

" You ought not to have acted like that, Grcn,"
said Anguish, a few moments later. " She saw me
call your attention to her, and she saw you refuse
to look back. I don t think that you should have
hurt her." Lorry did not respond, and there was no
word between them until they were outside the castle
gates.

" You may leave to-morrow, Lorry, if you like,
but I m going to stay a while," said Harry, a trifle
confusedly.

" Haven t you had enough of the place? "

" I don t care a whoop for the place. You see, it s
this way : I m just as hard hit as you, and it is not a
Princess that I have to contend with."

" You mean that you are in love with the Coun
tess?"

" Emphatically."

" I m sorry for you.

"Think she ll turn me down?"

" Unless you buy a title from one of these miser
able Counts or Dukes."

" Oh, I m not so sure about that. These Counts
and Dukes come over and marry our American girls.
I don t see why I can t step in and pick out a nice
little Countess if I want to."

" She is not as avaricious as the Counts and Dukes.
I ll wager. She cares nothing for your money.

THE BETROTHAL 219

" Well, she s as poor as a church mouse," said the

other, doggedly.

"The Countess poor? How do you know?"
" I asked her one day and she told me all about it,"

said Anguish.

XVI

A CLASH AND ITS RESULT

" I feel like spending the rest of my days in that
monastery up there," said Lorry, after dinner that
evening. They were strolling about the town. One
was determined to leave the city, the other firm in
his resolve to stay. The latter won the day when
he shrewdly, if explosively, reminded the former that
it was their duty as men to stay and protect the
Princess from the machinations of Gabriel, that knave
of purgatory. Lorry, at last recognizing the hope
lessness of his suit, was ready to throw down his
arms and abandon the field to superior odds. His
presumption in aspiring for the hand of a Princess
began to touch his sense of humor, and he laughed,
not very merrily, it is true, but long and loudly, at
his folly. At first he cursed the world and every
one in it, giving up in despair, but later he cursed
only himself. Yet, as he despaired and scoffed, he
felt within himself the ever-present hope that luck
might turn the tide of battle.

This puny ray grew perceptibly when Anguish
brought him to feel that she needed his protection
from the man who had once sought to despoil and
who might reasonably be expected to persevere. He

220

A CLASH AND ITS RESULT 221

agreed to linger in Edelweiss, knowing that each day
would add pain to the torture he was already suffer
ing, his sole object being, he convinced himself, to
frustrate Gabriel s evil plans.

Returning late in the evening from their stroll,
they entered a cafe celebrated in Edelweiss. In all
his life, Lorry had never known the loneliness that
makes death welcome. To-night he felt that he
could not live, so maddening was the certainty that
he could never regain joy. His heart bled with the
longing to be near her who dwelt inside those castle
walls. He scoffed and grieved, but grieved the more.

The cafe was crowded with men and women. In
a far corner sat a party of Axphain nobles, their
Prince, a most democratic fellow, at the head of a
long table. There were songs, jests and boisterous
laughter. The celebration grew wilder, and Lorry
and Anguish crossed the room, and, taking seats
at a table, ordered wine and cigars, both eager for
a closer view of the Prince. How Lorry loathed
him!

Lorenz was a good-looking young fellow, little
more than a boy. His smooth face was flushed, and
there was about him an air of dissipation that sug
gested depravity in its advanced stage. The faco
that might have been handsome was the reflection
of a roue, dashing, devilish. He was fair-haired and
tall, taller than his companions by half a head. With
reckless abandon, he drank and sang and jested, ar
rogant in his flighty merriment. His cohorts were
not far behind him in riotous wit.

222 GRAUSTARK

At length one of the revelers, speaking in German,
called on Lorenz for a toast to the Princess Yetive,
his promised bride. Without a moment s hesitation
the Prince sprang to his feet, held his glass aloft,
and cried:

" Here s to the fairest of the fair, sweet Yetive,
so hard to win, too good to lose. She loves me,
God bless her heart! And I love her, God bless my
heart, too ! For each kiss from her wondrous lips
I shall credit myself with one thousand gawos.
That is the price of a kiss."

" I ll give two thousand ! " roared one of the nobles,
and there was a laugh in which the Prince joined.

" Nay ! I ll not sell them now. In after years,
when she has grown old and her lips are parched
and dry from the sippings I have had, I ll sell them
all at a bargain. Alas, she has not yet kissed me! "

Lorry heart bounded with joy, though his hands
were clenched in rage.

" She will kiss me to-morrow. To-morrow I shall
taste what no other man has touched, what all men
have coveted. And I ll be generous, gentlemen. She
is so fair that your foul mouths would blight with
but one caress upon her tender lips, and yet you shall
not be deprived of bliss. I shall kiss her thrice for
each of you. Let me count: thrice eleven is thirty-
three. Aye, thirty-three of my kisses shall be
wasted for the sake of my friends, lucky dogs!
Drink to my Princess ! "

" Bravo ! " cried the others, and the glasses were
raised to lip.

"Two s COMPANY, THREE S A CROWD."

A CLASH AND ITS RESULT 228

A chair was overturned. The form of a man
landed suddenly at the side of the Prince and a
rough hand dashed the glass from his fingers, the
contents flying over his immaculate English evening
dress.

" Don t you dare drink to that toast ! " cried a
voice in his astonished ear, a voice speaking in ex
cited German. He whirled and saw a scowling face
beside his own, a pair of gray eyes that flashed
fire.

" What do you mean ? " he demanded, anger replac
ing amazement. The other members of his party
stood as if spellbound.

" I mean that you speak of the Princess of Grau-
stark. Do you understand that, you miserable cur? "

" Oh ! " screamed the Prince, convulsed with rage,
starting back and instinctively reaching for the
sword he did not carry. " You shall pay for this !
I will teach you to interfere "

" I ll insult you more decidedly, just to avoid mis
apprehension," snarled Lorry, swinging his big fist
squarely upon the mouth of the Prince. His Royal
Highness landed under a table ten feet away.

Instantly the cafe was in an uproar. The stupe
fied Axphainians regained their senses and a gen
eral assault was made upon the hot-headed Ameri
can. He knocked another down, Harry Anguish
coming to his assistance with several savage blows,
after which the Graustark spectators and the waiters
interfered. It was all over in an instant, yet a sen
sation that would live in the gossip of generations

224 GRAUSTARK

had been created. A Prince of the realm had been
brutally assaulted! Holding his jaw, Lorenz picked
himself from the floor, several of his friends run
ning to his aid. There was blood on his lips and
chin; it trickled to his shirt front. For some mo
ments he stood panting, glaring at Lorry s mocking
face.

" I am Lorenz of Axphain, sir," he said at last, his
voice quivering with suppressed anger.

" It shall be a pleasure to kill you, Lorenz," ob
served his adversary, displaying his ignorance of
lese-majeste.

Anguish, pale and very much concerned, dragged
him away, the Prince leaving the cafe ahead of
them, followed by his chattering, cursing com
panions. Prince Gabriel was standing near the
door as they passed out. He looked at the Ameri
cans sharply, and Anguish detected something like
triumphant joy in his eyes.

" Good Lord, Lorry ; this means a duel ! Don t
you know that? " cried he, as they started upstairs.

" Of course, I do. And I m going to kill that
villain, too," exclaimed Lorry, loud enough to be
heard from one end of the room to the other.

" This is horrible, horrible ! Let me square it up

some way if " began the alarmed Anguish.

" Square it up ! Look here, Harry Anguish, I am
the one who will do the squaring. If he wants a
duel he can have it any old time and in any style he
desires."

"He may kill you!"

A CLASH AND ITS RESULT 225

" Not while a just God rules over our destinies.
I ll take my chances with pistols, and now let me
tell you one thing, my boy; he ll never live to touch
his lips to hers, nor will there be a royal wedding.
She cannot marry a dead man." He was beside
himself with excitement, and it was fully half an
hour before Anguish could bring him to a sensible
discussion of the affair. Gradually he became cool,
and, the fever once gone, he did not lose his head
again.

" Choose pistols at ten paces and at eight to-mor
row," he said, nonchalantly, as a rap at the door of
their apartment announced the arrival of the Prince s
friend.

Anguish admitted two well-dressed, black-bearded
men, both of whom had sat at the Prince s table in
the cafe. They introduced themselves as the Duke
of Mizrox and Colonel Attobawn. Their visit was
brief, formal and conclusive.

" We understand that you are persons of rank in
your own America? " said the Duke of Mizrox, after
a few moments.

" We are sons of business men," responded Mr.
Anguish.

" Oh, well, I hardly know. But His Highness is
very willing to waive his rank, and to grant you a
meeting."

" I m delighted by His Highness s condescension,
which I perfectly understand," observed Mr. An
guish. "Now, what have we to settle, gentlemen? "

" The detail of weapons."

226 GRAUSTARK

When Anguish announced that his principal chose
pistols, a strange gleam crept into the eyes of the
Axphainians, and they seemed satisfied. Colonel
Attobawn acted as interpreter during this short but
very important interview which was carried on in
the Axphain language. Lorry sat on the window-
sill, steadfastly gazing into the night. The visitors
departed soon, and it was understood that Prince
Lorenz would condescend to meet Mr. Lorry at
eight o clock on the next morning in the valley be
yond the castle, two miles from town. There was
no law prohibiting duels in Graustark.

" Well, you re in for it, old man," said Anguish,
gloomily, his chin in his hands as he fastened melan
choly eyes upon his friend.

" Don t worry about me, Harry. There s only one
way for this thing to end. His Royal Highness is
doomed." Lorry spoke with the earnestness and
conviction of one who is permitted to see into the
future.

Calmly, he prepared to write some letters, not to
say farewell, but to explain to certain persons the
cause of the duel and to say that he gloried in the
good fortune which had presented itself. One of
these letters was addressed to his mother, another
to the father of Prince Lorenz, and the last to the
Princess of Graustark. To the latter he wrote much
that did not appear in the epistles directed to the
others. Anguish had been in his room more than
an hour, and had frequently called to his friend and
begged him to secure what rest he could in order

A CLASH AND ITS RESULT 227

that their nerves might be steady in the morning.
But it was not until after midnight that the duelist
sealed the envelopes, direced them and knocked at
his second s door to say:

" I shall entrust these letters to you, Harry. You
must see that they start on their way to-morrow."

Then he went to bed and to sleep.

At six his second, who had slept but little, called
him. They dressed hurriedly and prepared for the
ride to the valley. Their own new English bulldog
revolvers were to serve as weapons in the coming
combat, and a carriage was to be in waiting for
them in a side street at seven o clock.

Before leaving their room they heard evidences of
a commotion in the hotel, and were apprehensive lest
the inmates had learned of the duel and were making
ready to follow the fighters to the appointed spot.
There was a confusion of voices, the sound of rush
ing feet, the banging of doors, the noise increasing
as the two men stepped into the open hall. They
were amazed to see half-dressed men and women
standing or running about the halls, intense excite
ment in their faces and in their actions. White
uniformed policemen were flocking into the corri
dors ; soldiers, coatless and hatless, fresh from their
beds, came dashing upon the scene. There were ex
cited cries, angry shouts and, more mystifying than
all, horrified looks and whispers.

" What has happened? " asked Lorry, stopping
near the door

" It can t be a fire. Look ! The door to that room

228 GRAUSTARK

down there seems to be the center of attraction.
Hold on! Don t go over there, Lorry. There may
be something to unnerve you, and that must not
happen now. Let us go down this stairway it leads
to a side entrance, I think." They were half way
down the stairs when the thunder of rushing feet
in the hall above came to their ears, causing them to
hesitate between curiosity and good judgment.
" They are coming this way."

" Hear them howl ! What the devil can be the
cause of all this rumpus? " cried the other.

At that instant half a dozen police guards ap
peared at the head of the stairs. Upon seeing the
Americans, they stopped and turned as if to oppose
a foe approaching from the opposite direction.
Baron Dangloss separated himself from the white
coats above and called to the men below. In alarm,
they started for the street door. He was with them
in an instant, his usually red face changing from
white to purple, his anxious eyes darting first toward
the group above and then toward the bewildered
Americans.

" What s the matter? " demanded Lorry.

" There ! See ! " cried Dangloss, and even as he
spoke a conflict began at the head of the stairs, the
police, augmented by a few soldiers, struggling
against a howling, enraged mass of Axphainians.
Dangloss dragged his reluctant charges through a
small door, and they found themselves in the bag
gage-room of the hotel. Despite their queries, he
offered no explanation, but rushed them along, pass-

A CLASH AND ITS RESULT 229

ing out of the opposite door, down a short stairway
and into a side street. A half dozen police-guards
were awaiting them, and before they could catch the
faintest idea of what it all meant, they were running
with the officers through an alley, as if pursued by
demons.

" Now, what in thunder does this mean? " panted
Lorry, attempting to slacken the pace. He and
Anguish were just beginning to regain their senses.

" Do not stop ! Do not stop ! " wheezed Dangloss.
" You must get to a place of safety. We cannot
prevent something dreadful happening if you are
caught ! "

" If we are caught ! " cried Anguish. " Why, what
have we done? "

" Unhand me, Baron Dangloss ! This is an out
rage ! " shouted Lorry.

" For God s sake, be calm ! We are befriending
you. When we reach the Tower, where you will be
safe, I shall explain," gasped the panting Chief of
Police. A few moments later they were inside the
prison gates, angry, impatient, fatigued.

" Is this a plan to prevent the duel ? " demanded
Lorry, turning upon the chief, who had dropped
limply into a chair and was mopping his brow. When
he could find his breath enough to answer, Dangloss
did so, and he might as well have thrown a bomb
shell at their feet.

" There ll be no duel. Prince Lorenz is dead ! "

" Dead ! " gasped the others.

" Found dead in his bed, stabbed to the heart ! "

230 GRAUSTARK

exclaimed the chief. " We have saved you from his
friends, gentlemen, but I must say that you are still
in a tight place."

He then related to them the whole story. Just
before six o clock Mizrox had gone to the Prince s
room to prepare him for the duel. The door was
closed but unlocked, as he found after repeated
knot-kings. Lorenz was lying on the bed, undressed
and covered with blood. The horrified Duke made
a hasty examination and found that he was dead. A
dagger had been driven to his heart as he slept. The
hotel was aroused, the police called, and the excite
ment was at its highest pitch when the two friends
came from their room a few minutes after six.

" But what have we to do with this dreadful
affair? Why are we rushed off here like crim
inals? " asked Lorry, a feeling of cruel gladness
growing out of the knowledge that Lorenz was
dead and that the Princess was freed from her com
pact.

" My friend," said Dangloss, slowly, " you are ac
cused of the murder."

Lorry was too much stunned to be angry, too
weak to protest. For some moments after the blow
fell he and Anguish were speechless. Then came
the protestations, the rage and the threats, through
all of which Dangloss sat calmly. Finally he sought
to quiet them, partially succeeding.

" Mr. Lorry, the evidence is very strong against
you, but you shall not be unjustly treated. You are
not a prisoner as yet. In Graustark a man who is

A CLASH AND ITS RESULT 231

accused of murder, and who was not seen by any
one to commit the crime, cannot be legally arrested
until an accuser shall go before the Princess, who
is also High Priestess, and swear on his life that he
knows the guilty man. The man who so accuses
agrees to forfeit his own life in case the other is
proved innocent. If you are to be charged with the
murder of the Prince, some one must go before the
Princess and take oath his life against yours. I
am holding you here, sir, because it is the only place
in which you are safe. Lorenz s friends would have
torn you to pieces had we not found you first. You
are not prisoners, and you may depart if you think
it wise."

" But, my God, how can they accuse me? I knew
nothing of the murder until I reached this place,"
cried Lorry, stopping short in his restless walk be
fore the little Baron.

" So you say, but "

" If you accuse me, damn you, I ll kill you ! " whis
pered Lorry, holding himself tense. Anguish caught
and held him.

" Be calm, sir," cautioned Dangloss. " I may have
my views, but I am not willing to take oath before
Her Royal Highness. Listen: You were heard to
say you would kill him ; you began the fight ; you
were the aggressor, and there is no one else on
earth, it is said, who could have wished to murder
him. The man who did the stabbing entered the
room through the hall door and left by the same.
There are drops of blood in the carpet, leading direct

232 GRAUSTARK

to your door. On your knob are the prints of
bloody fingers where you or some one else placed
his hand in opening the door. It was this discovery,
made by me and my men, that fully convinced the
enraged friends of the dead Prince that you were
guilty. When we opened the door you were gone.
Then came the search, the fight at the head of the
stairs, and the race to the prison. The reason I
saved you from that mob should be plain to you. I
love my Princess, and I do not forget that you
risked your life each of you to protect her. I
have done all that I can, gentlemen, to protect you
in return. It means death to you if you fall into
the hands of his followers just now. A few hours
will cool them off, no doubt, but now now it would
be madness to face them. I know not what they
have done to my men at the hotel ! perhaps butch
ered them."

There was anxiety in Dangloss s voice and there
was honesty in his keen old eyes. His charges now
saw the situation clearly and apologized warmly for
the words they had uttered under the pressure of
somewhat extenuating circumstances. They ex
pressed a willingness to remain in the prison until
the excitement abated or until some one swore his
life against the supposed murderer. They were
virtually prisoners, and they knew it well. Further
more, they could see that Baron Dangloss believed
Lorry guilty of the murder; protestation of inno
cence had been politely received and politely dis
regarded.

A CLASH AND ITS RESULT 233

" Do you expect one of his friends to take the
oath ? " asked Lorry.

" Yes ; it is sure to come."

" But you will not do so yourself? "

" No."

" I thank you, captain, for I see that you believe
me guilty."

" I do not say you are guilty, remember, but I
will say that if you did murder Prince Lorenz you
have made the people of -Graustark re j oice from the
bottoms of their hearts, and you will be eulogized
from one end of the land to the other."

" Hanged and eulogized," said Lorry, grimly.

XVI

IN THE TOWER

The two captives who were not prisoners were so
dazed by the unexpected events of the morning that
they did not realize the vast seriousness of the situa
tion for hours. Then it dawned upon them that
appearances were really against them, and that, they
were alone in a land far beyond the reach of help
from home. One circumstance puzzled them with
its damning mystery: how came the blood stains
upon the door-knob? Dangloss courteously dis
cussed this strange and unfortunate feature with
them, but with ill-concealed skepticism. It was evi
dent that his mind was clear in regard to the whole
affair.

Anguish was of the opinion that the real murderer
had stained the knob intentionally, aiming to cast
suspicion on the man who had been challenged. The
assassin had an object in leaving those convicting
finger-marks where they would do the most damage.
He cither desired the arrest and death of the Ameri
can or hoped that his own guilt might escape atten
tion through the misleading evidence. Lorry held,
from his deductions, that the crime had been com
mitted by a fanatic who loved his sovereign too de-

234

IN THE TOWER 235

votedly to see her wedded to Lorenz. Then why
should he wantonly cast guilt upon the man who had
been her protector, objected Dangloss.

The police guards came in from the hotel about
ten o clock, bearing marks of an ugly conflict with
the Axphainians. They reported that the avengers
had been quelled for the time being, but that a depu
tation had already started for the castle to lay the
matter before the Princess. Officers had searched
the rooms of the Americans for blood stains, but had
found no sign of them.

" Did you find bloody water in which hands had
been washed? " asked Anguish.

" No," responded one of the guards. " There was
nothing to be found in the bowls and jars except
soapy water. There is not a blood stain in the room,
Captain."

" That shakes your theory a little, eh? " cried An
guish, triumphantly. " Examine Mr. Lorry s hands
and see if there is blood upon them." Lorry s hands
were white and uncontaminated. Dangloss wore a
pucker on his brow.

Shortly afterward a crowd of Axphain men came
to the prison gates and demanded the person of
Grenfall Lorry, departing after an ugly show of
rage. Curious Edelweiss citizens stood afar off,
watching the walls and windows eagerly.

" This may cost Edelweiss a great deal of trouble,
gentlemen, but there is more happiness here this
morning than the city has known in months. Every
body believes you killed him, Mr. Lorry, but they

236 GRAU STARK

all love you for the deed," said Dangloss, returning
at noon from a visit to the hotel and a ride through
the streets. " The Prince s friends have been at the
castle since nine o clock, and I am of the opinion that
they are having a hard time with the High
Priestess."

" God bless her ! " cried Lorry.

" The town is crazy with excitement. Messengers
have been sent to old Prince Bolaroz to inform him
of the murder and to urge him to hasten hither,
where he may fully enjoy the vengeance that is to
be wreaked upon his son s slayer. I have not seen
a wilder time in Edelweiss since the close of the
siege, fifteen years ago. By my soul, you are in a
bad box, sir. They are lurking in every part of
town to kill you if you attempt to leave the Tower
before the Princess signs an order to restrain you
legally. Your life, outside these walls, would not
be worth a snap of the fingers."

Captain Quinnox, of the Princess s bodyguard,
accompanied by half a dozen of his men, rode up to
the prison gates about two o clock and was promptly
admitted. The young captain was in sore distress.

" The Duke of Mizrox has sworn that you are the
murderer, Mr. Lorry, and stakes his life," said he,
after greetings. " Her Highness has just placed in
my hands an order for your arrest as the assassin of
Prince Lorenz."

Lorry turned as pale as death. " You you don t
mean to say that she has signed a warrant that she
believes me guilty," he cried, aghast.

IN THE TOWER 237

" She has signed the warrant, but very much
against her inclination. Count Halfont informed
me that she pleaded and argued with the Duke for
hours, seeking to avert the act which is bound to
give pain to all of us. He was obdurate, and threat
ened to carry complaint to Bolaroz, who would in
stantly demand satisfaction. As the Duke is willing
to die if you are proved innocent, there was no other
course left for her than to dictate and sign this royal
decree. Captain Dangloss, I am instructed to give
you these papers. One is the warrant for Mr.
Lorry s arrest, the other orders you to assume
charge of him and to place him in confinement until
the day of trial."

While Quinnox was making this statement, the
accused stood with bowed head and throbless heart.
He did not see the captain s hand tremble as he
passed the documents to Dangloss, nor did he hear
the unhappy sigh that came from the latter s lips.
Anguish, fiery and impulsive, was not to be sub
dued.

"Is there no warrant for my arrest?" he de
manded.

" There is not. You are at liberty to go, sir," re
sponded Quinnox.

" I d like to know why there isn t. I m just a*
guilty as Lorry."

" The Duke charges the crime to but one of you.
Baron Dangloss, will you read the warrant? "

The old chief read the decree ot the Princess slowly
and impressively. It was as follows :

238 GRAUSTARK

" Jacot, Duke of Mizrox, before his God and on
his life, swears that Grenfall Lorry did foully, ma
liciously and designedly slay Lorenz, Prince of Ax-
phain, on the 20th day of October, in the year of
our Lord 189 , and in the city of Edelweiss, Grau-
stark. It is therefore my decree that Grenfall Lorry
be declared murderer of Lorenz, Prince of Axphain,
until he be proved innocent, in which instance, his
accuser, Jacot, Duke of Mizrox, shall forfeit his
life, according to the law of this land providing pen
alty for false witness, and by which he, himself, has
sworn to abide faithfully.

" Signed : Yetive."

There was silence for some moments, broken by
the dreary tones of the accused.

" What chance have I to prove my innocence? " he
asked, hopelessly.

" The same opportunity that he has to prove your
guilt. The Duke must, according to our law, prove
you guilty beyond all doubt," spoke the young cap
tain.

"When am I to be tried?"

" Here is my order from the Princess," said Dan-
gloss, glancing over the other paper. " It says that
I am to confine you securely and to produce you
before the tribunal on the 26th day of October."

" A week ! That is a long time," said Lorry.
" May I have permission to see the signature affixed
to those papers?" Dangloss handed them to him.
He glanced at the name he loved, written by the

IN THE TOWER 239

hand he had kissed, now signing away his life, per
haps. A mist came over his eyes and a strange joy
filled his soul. The hand that signed the name had
trembled in doing so, had trembled pitifully. The
heart had not guided the fingers. " I am your pris-
soner, Captain Dangloss. Do with me as you will,"
he said, simply.

" I regret that I am obliged to place you in a cell,
sir, and under guard. Believe me, I am sorry this
happened. I am your friend," said the old man,
gloomily.

" And I," cried Quinnox.

" But what is to become of me? " cried poor An
guish, half in tears. " I won t leave you, Gren. It s
an infernal outrage ! "

" Be cool, Harry, and it will come out right. He
has no proof, you know," said the other, wringing
his friend s hand.

" But I ll have to stay here, too. If I go outside
these walls, I ll be killed like a dog," protested
Harry.

" You are to have a guard of six men while you
are in Edelweiss, Mr. Anguish. Those are the in
structions of the Princess. I do not believe the
scoundrels I mean the Axphain nobles will molest
you if you do not cross them. When you are ready
to go to your hotel, I will accompany you."

Half an hour later Lorry was in a cell from which
there could be no escape, while Anguish was riding
toward the hotel, surrounded by Graustark soldiers.
He had sworn to his friend that he would unearth

240 GRAUSTARK

the murderer if it lay within the power of man. Cap
tain Dangloss heard the oath and smiled sadly.

At the castle there was depression and relief, grief
and joy. The royal family, the nobility, even the
servants, soldiers and attendants, rejoiced in the
stroke that had saved the Princess from a fate worse
than death. Her preserver s misfortune was de
plored deeply; expressions of sympathy were whis
pered among them all, high and low. The Ax-
phainians were detested the Prince most of all
and the crime had come as a joy instead of a shock.
There were, of course, serious complications for the
future, involving ugly conditions that were bound
to force themselves upon the land. The dead man s
father would demand the life of his murderer. If
not Lorry, who? Graustark would certainly be
asked to produce the man who killed the heir to the
throne of Axphain, or to make reparation bloody
reparation, no doubt.

In the privacy of her room the stricken Princess
collapsed from the effects of the ordeal. Her poor
brain had striven in vain to invent means by which
she might save the man she loved. She had sur
rendered to the inevitable because there was justice
in the claims of the inexorable Duke and his vin
dictive friends. Against her will, she had issued
the decree, but not, however, until she had learned
that he was in prison and unable to fly the country.
The hope that delay might aid him in escaping was
rudely crushed when her uncle informed her of
Lorry s whereabouts. She signed the decree as if

IN THE TOWER 241

in a dream, a nightmare, with trembling hand and
broken heart. His death warrant! And yet, like
all others, she believed him guilty. Guilty for her
sake 1 And this was how she rewarded him.

Mizrox and his friends departed in triumph, re
venge written on every face. She walked blindly,
numbly, to her room, assisted by her uncle, the
Count. Without observing her aunt or the Countess
Dagmar, she staggered to the window and looked
below. The Axphainians were crossing the parade
ground jubilantly. Then came the clatter of a
horse s hoof, and Captain Quinnox, with the fatal
papers in his possession, galloped down the avenue.
She clutched the curtains distractedly, and, leaning
far forward, cried from the open window:

" Quinnox ! Quinnox ! Come back ! I forbid
I forbid ! Destroy those papers ! Quinnox ! "

But Quinnox heard not the pitiful wail. He rode
on, his dark face stamped with pity for the ma
whose arrest he was to make. Had he heard the
cry from his sovereign, the papers would have been
in her destroying grasp with the speed that comes
only to the winged birds. Seeing him disappear
down the avenue, she threw her hands to her head
and sank back with a moan, fainting. Count Hal-
font caught her in his arms. It was nightfall before
she was fully revived. The faithful young Countess
clung to her caressingly, lovingly, uttering words of
consolation until long after the shades of night had
dropped. They were alone in the Princess s boudoir,
seated together upon the divan, the tired head of the

242 GRAUSTARK

one resting wearily against the shoulder of the other.
Gentle fingers toyed with the tawny tresses, and a
soft voice lulled with its consoling promise of hope.
Wide and dark and troubled were the eyes of the
ruler of Graustark.

An attendant appeared and announced the arrival
of one of the American gentlemen, who insisted on
seeing Her Royal Highness. The card on the tray
bore the name of Harry Anguish. At once the Prin
cess was aflutter with eagerness and excitement.

" Anguish ! Show him to this room quickly. Oh,
Dagmar, he brings word from him! He comes
from him! Why is he so slow? Ach, I cannot
wait ! "

Far from being slow, Anguish was exceedingly
swift in approaching the room to which he feared
admittance might be denied. He strode boldly, im
petuously into the apartment, his feet muddy, his
clothing splashed with rain, his appearance far from
that of a gentleman.

" Tell me! What is it? " she cried, as he stopped
in the center of the room and glared at her.

" I don t care whether you like it, and it doesn t
matter if you are a Princess," he exploded, " there
are a few things I m going to say to you. First, I
want to know what kind of a woman you are to

throw into prison a man like like Oh, it

drives me crazy to think of it! I don t care if you
are insulted. He s a friend of mine, and he is no
more guilty than you are, and I want to know what
you mean by ordering his arrest? "

IN THE TOWER 243

Her lips parted as if to speak, her face grew
deathly pale, her fingers clutched the edge of the
divan. She stared at him piteously, unable to move,
to speak. Then the blue eyes filled with tears, a sob
came to her lips, and her tortured heart made a last,
brave effort at defense.

" I I Mr. Anguish, you wrong me, I I "

She tried to whisper through the closed throat and
stiffened lips. Words failed her, but she pleaded
with those wet, imploring eyes. His heart melted,
his anger was swept away in a twinkling. He saw
that he had wounded her most unjustly.

" You brute ! " hissed the Countess, with flashing,
indignant eyes, throwing her arms about the Prin
cess and drawing her head to her breast.

" Forgive me," he cried, sinking to his knee before
the Princess, shame and contrition in his face. " I
have been half mad this whole day, and I have
thought harshly of you. I now see that you are
suffering more intensely than I. I love Lorry, and
that is my only excuse. He is being foully wronged,
Your Highness, foully wronged."

" I deserve your contempt, after all. Whether he
be guilty or innocent, I should have refused to sign
the decree. It is too late now. I have signed away
something that is very dear to me, his life. You
are his friend and mine. Can you tell me what he
thinks of me what he says how he feels? " She
asked the triple question breathlessly.

" He believes you were forced into the act, and
said as much to me. And how he feels, I can only

244 GRAUSTARK

ask how you would feel if you were in his place,
innocent and yet almost sure of conviction. These
friends of Axphain will resort to any subterfuge,
now that one of their number has staked his life.
Mark my word, some one will deliberately swear
that he saw Grcnfall Lorry strike the blow and that
will be as villainous a lie as man ever told. What
I am here for, Your Highness, is to ask if that de
cree cannot be withdrawn."

" Alas, it cannot ! I would gladly order his release
if I could, but you can see what that would mean
to us. A war, Mr. Anguish," she sighed, miserably.

" But you will not see an innocent man con
demned? " cried he, again indignant.

" I have only your statement for that, sir, if you
will pardon me. I hope, from the bottom of mv
heart, that he did not murder the Prince after being
honorably challenged."

" He is no coward ! " thundered Anguish, startling
both women with his vehemence. " I say he did not
kill the Prince, but I ll stake my life he would have
done so had they met this morning. There s no use
trying to have the decree rescinded, I see, so I ll take
my departure. I don t blame you, Your Highness ;
it is your duty, of course. But it s pretty hard on
Lorry, that s all."

" He may be able to clear himself," suggested the
Countess, nervously.

" And he may not, so there you have it. What
chance have two Americans over here with every
body against us? "

IN THE TOWER 245

" Stop ! You shall not say that ! He shall have full
justice, at any cost, and there is one here who is not
against him," cried the Princess, with flashing eyes.

" I am aware that everybody admires him because
he has done Graustark a service in ridding it of
something obnoxious a prospective husband. But
that does not get him out of jail."

" You are unkind again," said the Princess, slowly.
" I chose my husband, and you assume much when
you intimate that I am glad because he was mur
dered."

" Do not be angry," cried the Countess, im
patiently. " We all regret what has happened, and I,
for one, hope that Mr. Lorry may escape from the
Tower and laugh forevermore at his pursuers. If he
could only dig his way out ! "

The Princess shot a startled look toward the
speaker as a new thought entered her weary brain ;
a short, involuntary gasp told that it had lodged
and would grow. She laughed at the idea of an
escape from the Tower, but as she laughed a tiny
spot of red began to spread upon her cheek, and her
eyes glistened strangely.

Anguish remained with them for half an hour.
When he left the castle it was with a more hopeful
feeling in his breast. In the Princess s bed-chamber
late that night, two girls, in loose, silken gowns, sat
before a low fire and talked of something that
caused the Countess to tremble with excitement
when first her pink-cheeked sovereign mentioned it in
confidence.

XVIII

THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT

Lorry s cell was as comfortable as a cell could be
made through the efforts of a kindly jailer and a
sympathetic Chief of Police. It was not located in
the dungeon, but high in the tower, a little rock-
bound room, with a single barred window far above
the floor. There was a bed of iron upon which had
been placed a clean mattress, and there was a little
chair. The next day after his arrest a comfortable
arm chair replaced the latter; a table, a lamp, some
books, flowers, a bottle of wine and some fruit found
their way to his lonely apartment whoever may
have sent them. Harry Anguish was admitted to
the cell during the afternoon. He promptly and
truthfully denied all interest in the donations, but
smiled wisely.

He reported that most of the Axphain contingent
was still in town ; a portion had hurried home, carry
ing the news to the old Prince, instructed by the
aggressive Mizrox to fetch him forthwith to Edel
weiss, where his august presence was necessary be
fore the twenty-sixth. Those who remained in the
Graustark capital were quiet but still in a threatening
mood. The Princess, so Harry informed the pris-

246

THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT 247

oner, sent sincere expressions of sympathy and the
hope that all would end well with him. Count Hal-
font, the Countess, Gaspon and many others had
asked to be remembered. The prisoner smiled wear
ily and promised that they should not be forgotten
in a week which was as far as he expected his
memory to extend.

Late in the evening, as he was lying on his bed,
staring at the shadowy ceiling and puzzling his brain
with most oppressive uncertainties, the rattle of keys
in the lock announced the approach of visitors. The
door swung open, and through the grate he saw
Dangloss and Quinnox. The latter wore a long
military rain coat and had just come in from a
drenching downpour. Lorry s reverie had been so
deep that he had not heard the thunder nor the howl
ing of the winds. Springing to his feet, he ad
vanced quickly to the grated door.

" Captain Quinnox brings a private message from
the Princess," said the chief, the words scarcely
more than whispered. It was plain that the message
was important and of a secret nature. Quinnox
looked up and down the corridor and stairway be
fore thrusting the tiny note through the bars. It
was grasped eagerly and trembling fingers broke the
seal. Bending near the light, he read the lines, his
vision blurred, his heart throbbing so fiercely that
the blood seemed to be drowning out other sounds
for all time to come. In the dim corridor stood the
two men, watching him with bated breath and guilty,
quaking nerves.

248 GRAUSTARK

" Oh ! " gasped Lorry, kissing the missive insanely,
as his greedy eyes careened through the last line.
There was no signature, but in every word he saw
her face, felt the touch of her dear hand, heard her
timid heart beating for him for him alone. Rapture
thrilled him from head to foot, the delirious rapture
of love. He could not speak, so overpowering was
the joy, the surprise, the awakening.

" Obey ! " whkp red Quinnox, his face aglow with
pleasure, his finger quivering as he pointed com-
mandingly toward the letter.

"Obey what?" asked Lorry, dully.

" The last line ! "

He hastily re-read the last line and then deliber
ately held the precious missive over the lamp until it
ignited. He would have given all he possessed to
have preserved it. But the last line commanded:
" Burn this at once, and in the presence of the
bearer."

" There ! " he said, regretfully, as he crumpled the
charred remnants between his fingers and turned to
the silent watchers.

" Her crime goes up in smoke," muttered Dan-
gloss, sententiously.

" The Princess commits no crime," retorted Quin
nox, angrily, " when she trusts four honest men."

"Where is she?" whispered the prisoner, with
thrumming ears.

" Where all good women should be at nine o clock
in bed," replied Dangloss, shortly. " But will you
obey her command? "

249

" So she comands me to escape ! " said Lorry,
smiling. " I dare not disobey my sovereign, I sup
pose."

" We obey her because we love her," said the cap
tain of the guard.

" And for that reason I also obey. But can this
thing be accomplished without necessitating explana
tions and possible complications? I will not obey
if it is likely to place her in an embarrassing posi
tion."

" She understands perfectly what she is doing, sir.
In the first place, she has had my advice," said Dan-
gloss, the good old betrayer of an official trust.

" You advised her to command you to allow me to
escape? "

" She commanded first, and then I advised her how
to command you. Axphain may declare a war a
thousand times over, but you will be safe. That s
all we I mean, all she wants."

" But I cannot desert my friend. How is he to
know where I ve gone? Will not vengeance fall
on him instead? "

" He shall know everything when the proper time
comes. And now, will you be ready at the hour
mentioned? You have but to follow the instruc
tions I should say, the commands of the writer."

"And be free! Toll her thac 1 worship her for
this. Tell her that every drop of blood in my body
belongs to hr. She offers me freedom, but makes
me her slave for life. Yes, I shall be ready. If
I do not see you again, good friends, remember that

250 GRAUSTARK

I love you because you love her and because she
loves you enough to entrust a most dangerous secret
to your keeping, the commission of an act that may
mean the downfall of your nation." He shook hands
with them fervently.

" It cannot be that, sir. It may cost the lives of
three of her subjects, but no man save yourself can
involve the Prin ^s or the Crown. They may kill
us, but they cannot f<a*ce us to betray her. I trust
you will be as loyal to the good girl who wears a
crown, not upon her heart," said Dangloss, ear
nestly.

" I have said my life is hers, gentlemen," said
Lorry, simply. " God, if I could but throw myself
at her feet ! I must see her before I go. I will not
go without telling her what is in my heart ! " he
added, passionately.

" You must obey the commands implicitly, on your
word of honor, or the transaction ends now," said
Quinnox, firmly.

" This escape means, then, that I am not to see
her again," he said, his voice choking with emo
tion.

" Her instructions are that you are to go to-night,
at once," said Dangloss, and the black-eyed soldier
nodded confirmation.

The prisoner paced the floor of his cell, his mind
a jumble of conflicting emotions. His clenched
bands, twitching lips and half-closed eyes betrayed
the battle that was inflicting him with its carnage.
Suddenly he darted to the door, crying:

THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT 251

" Then I refuse to obey ! Tell her that if she per
mits me to leave this hole I shall be at her feet before
another night has passed. Say to her that I refuse
to go from Graustark until I have seen her and
talked with her. You, Quinnox, go to her now and
tell her this, and say to her also that there is some
thing she must hear from my own lips. Then I will
leave Graustark and not till then, even though death
be the alternative." The two men stared at him in
amazement and consternation.

" You will not escape? " gasped Quinnox.

" I will not be dragged away without seeing her,"
he answered, resolutely, throwing himself on the
bed.

" Damned young ass ! " growled Dangloss. The
soldier s teeth grated. A moment later the slab
door closed softly, a key rattled, and his visitors
were gone messengers bearing to him the most
positive proof of devotion that man could exact.
What had she offered to do for his sake? She had
planned his escape, had sanctioned the commission
of an unparalleled outrage against the laws of her
land she, of all women, a Princess ! But she also
had sought to banish him from the shrine at which
his very soul worshiped, a fate more cruel and un
endurable than the one she would have saved him
from.

He looked at his hands and saw the black stains
from the charred letter, last evidence of the crime
against the State. A tender light came to his eyes,
a great lump struggled to his throat, and he kissed

252 GRAUSTARK

the sooty spots, murmuring her name again and
again. How lonely he was! how cold and cheerless
his cage! For the first time he began to appreciate
the real seriousness of his position. Up to this time
he had regarded it optimistically, confident of vindi
cation and acquittal. His only objection to imprison
ment grew out of annoyance and the mere depriva
tion of liberty. It had not entered his head that
he was actuallly facing death at close range. Of
course, it had been plain to him that the charges
were serious, and that he was awkwardly situated,
but the true enormity of his peril did not dawn upon
him until freedom was offered in such a remarkable
manner. He grew cold and shuddered instinctively
as he realized that his position was so critical that
the Princess had deemed it necessary to resort to
strategic measures in order to save him from im
pending doom. Starting to his feet, he paced the
floor, nervousness turning to dread, dread to terror.
He pounded on the door and cried aloud. Oh, if
he could but bring back those kindly messengers !

Exhausted, torn by conflicting emotions, he at last
dropped to the bed and buried his face in his arms,
nearly mad with the sudden solitude of despair. He
recalled her dear letter the tender, helping hand
that had been stretched out to lift him from the
depths into which he was sinking. She had writ
ten he could see the words plainly that his danger
was great; she could not endure life until she knew
him to be safely outside the bounds of Graustark.
His life was dear to her, and she would preserve it

THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT 253

by dishonoring her trust. Then she had unfolded
her plan of escape, disjointedly, guiltily, hopelessly.
In one place near the end, she wrote : " You have
done much more for me than you know, so I pray
that God may be good enough to let me repay you
so far as it lies within my power to do so." In an
other place she said : " You may trust my accom
plices, for they love me, too." An admission uncon
sciously made, that word " too."

But she was offering him freedom only to send
him away without granting one moment of joy in
her presence. After all, with death staring him in
the face, the practically convicted murderer of a
Prince, he knew he could not have gone without see
ing her. He had been ungrateful, perhaps, but the
message he had sent her was from his heart, and
something told him that it would give her pleasure.

A key turned suddenly in the lock, and his heart
bounded with the hope that it might be some one
with her surrender in response to his ultimatum.
He sat upright and rubbed his swollen eyes. The
door swung open, and a tall prison guard peered in
upon him, a sharp-eyed, low-browed fellow in rain
coat and helmet. His lantern s single unkind eye
was turned menacingly toward the bed.

" What do you want? " demanded the prisoner, ir
ritably.

Instead of answering, the guard proceeded to un
lock the second or grated door, stepping inside the
cell a moment later. Smothering an exclamation,
Lorry jerked out his watch and then sprang to his

254 GRAUSTARK

feet, intensely excited. It was just twelve o clock,
and he remembered now that she had said a guard
would come to him at that hour. Was this the
man? Was the plan to be carried out?

The two men stood staring at each other for a
moment or two, one in the agony of doubt and sus
pense, the other quizzically. A smile flitted over
the face of the guard; he calmly advanced to the
table, putting down his lantern. Then he drew off
his rain coat and helmet and placed in the other s
hand a gray envelope. Lorry reeled and would have
fallen but for the wall against which he staggered.
A note from her was in his hand. He tore open the
envelope and drew forth the letter. As he read
he grew strangely calm and contented; a blissful
repose rushed in to supplant the racking unrest of
a moment before; the shadows fled and life s light
was burning brightly once more. She had written:

" I entreat you to follow instructions and go to
night. You say you will not leave Graustark until
you have seen me. How rash you are to refuse lib
erty and life for such a trifle. But why, I ask, am
I offering you this chance to escape? Is it because
I do not hope to see you again? Is it not enough
that I am begging, imploring you to go? I can say
no more."

He folded the brief note, written in agitation,
and, after kissing it, proceeded to place it in his
pocket, determined to keep it till the last hour of his
life. Glancing up at a sound from the guard, he
found himself looking into the muzzle of a revolver.

THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT 255

A deep scowl overspread the face of the man as he
pointed to the letter and then to the lamp. There
was no mistaking his meaning. Lorry reluctantly
held the note over the flame and saw it crumble away
as had its predecessor. There was to be no proof of
her complicity left behind. He knew it would be
folly to offer a bribe to the loyal guard.

After this very significant act the guard s face
cleared, and he deposited his big revolver on the
table. Stepping to the cell s entrance, he listened
intently, then softly closed the heavy iron doors.
Without a word, he began to strip off his uniform,
Lorry watching him as if fascinated. The fellow
looked up impatiently and motioned for him to be
quick, taking it for granted that the prisoner under
stood his part of the transaction. Awakened by this
sharp reminder, Lorry nervously began to remove
his own clothes. In five minutes his garments were
scattered over the floor and he was attired in the
uniform of a guard. Not a word had been spoken.
The prisoner was the guard, the guard a prisoner.

* Are you not afraid this will cost you your life? "
asked Lorry, first in English, then in German. The
guard merely shook his head, indicating that he
could not understand.

He quickly turned to the bed, seized a sheet and
tore it into strips, impatiently thrusting them into the
other s hands. The first letter had foretold all
this, and the prisoner knew what was expected of
him.

He therefore securely bound tlie guard s legs and

256 GRAUSTARK

arms. With a grim smile, the captive nodded his
head toward the revolver, the lantern and the keys.
His obliging prisoner secured them, as well as his
own personal effects, and was ready to depart. Ac
cording to instructions, he was to go forth, locking
the doors behind him, leaving the man to be discov
ered the next morning by surprised keepers. It
struck him that there was something absurd in this
part of the plan. How was this guard to explain his
position with absolutely no sign of a struggle to bear
him out? It was hardly plausible that a big, strong
fellow could be so easily overpowered single-handed;
there was something wretchedly incongruous about
the but there came a startling and effective end to
all criticism.

The guard, bound as he was, suddenly turned and
lunged head-foremost against the sharp bedpost.
His head struck with a thud, and he rolled to the
floor as if dead. Uttering an exclamation of horror,
Lorry ran to his side. Blood was gushing from a
long gash across his head, and he was already un
conscious. Sickened by the brave sacrifice, he
picked the man up and placed him on the bed. A
hasty examination proved that it was no more than
a scalp wound, and that death was too remote to be
feared. The guard had done his part nobly, and it
was now the prisoner s turn to act as resolutely and
as unflinchingly. Sorry to leave the poor fellow in
what seemed an inhuman manner, he strode into the
corridor, closed and locked the doors clumsily, and
began the descent of the stairs. He had been in-

THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT 257

structed to act unhesitatingly, as the slighest show
of nervousness would result in discovery.

With the helmet well down over his face and the
cape well up, he steadily, even noisily made his way
to the next floor below. There were prisoners on
this floor, while he had been the only occupant of
the floor above. Straight ahead he went, flashing
his lantern here and there, passing down another
stairway and into the main corridor. Here he met
a guard who had just come in from the outside. The
man addressed him in the language of the country,
and his heart almost stopped beating. How was he
to answer? Mumbling something almost inaudible,
he hurried on to the ground floor, trembling with
fear lest the man should call him to halt. He
was relieved to find, in the end, that his progress was
not to be impeded. In another moment he was boldly
unlocking the door that led to the visitor s hall. Then
came the door to the warden s office. Here he found
three sleepy guards, none of whom paid any atten
tion to him as he passed through and entered Cap
tain Dangloss s private room. The gruff old cap
tain sat at a desk, writing. The escaping man half
paused, as if to speak to him. A sharp cough from
the captain and a significant jerk of the head told
him that there must be no delay, no words. Opening
the door, he stepped out into a storm so fierce and
wild that he shuddered apprehensively.

" A fitting night ! " he muttered, as he plunged into
the driving rain, forcing his way across the court
yard toward the main gate. The little light in the

258 GRAUSTARK

gate-keeper s window was his guide, so, blinded by
the torrents, blown by the winds, he soon found
himself before the final barrier. Peering through
the window, he saw the keeper dozing in his chair.
By the light from within, he selected from the bunch
of keys he carried one that had a white string
knotted in its ring. This was the key that was to
open the big gate in case no one challenged him. In
any other case, he was to give the countersign, " Dan-
gloss," and trust fortune to pass him through with
out question.

Luck was with him, and, finding the great lock,
he softly inserted and turned the key. The wind
blew the heavy gate open violently, and it required
all of his strength to keep it from banging against
the wall beyond. The most difficult task that he had
encountered grew from his efforts to close the gate
against the blast. He was about to give up in
despair, when a hand was laid on his shoulder, and
some one hissed in his startled ear:

" Sh ! Not a word ! "

His legs almost went from under his body, so
great was the shock and the fear. Two strong hands
joined his own in the effort to pull the door into posi
tion, and he knew at once that they belonged to the
man who was to meet him on the corner at the right
of the prison wall. He undoubtedly had tired of the
delay, and, feeling secure in the darkness of the
storm, had come to meet his charge, the escaping
prisoner. Their united efforts brought about the

THE FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT 259

desired result, and together they left the prison be
hind, striking out against the storm in all its fury.

" You are late," called the prisoner in his ear.

" Not too late, am I? " he cried back, clutching the
other s arm.

" No, but we must hasten."

" Captain Quinnox, is it you? "

" Have a care ! The storm has ears and can hear
names," cautioned the other. As rapidly as possible
they made their way along the black streets, almost
a river with its sheet of water. Lorry had lost his
bearings, and knew not whither he went, trusting to
the guidance of his struggling companion. There
seemed to be no end to their journey, and he was
growing weak beneath the exertion and the excite
ment.

" How far do we go? " he cried, at last.

" But a few rods. The carriage is at the next
corner."

" Where is the carriage to take me? " he demanded.

" I am not at liberty to say."

" Am I to see her before I go ? "

" That is something I cannot answer, sir. My
instructions are to place you in the carriage and
ride beside the driver until our destination is
reached."

" Is it the castle? " cried the other, joyously.

" It is not the castle," was the disappointing an
swer.

At that moment they came upon a great dark
hulk and heard the stamping of horses hoofs close

260 GRAUSTARK

at hand. It was so dark they could scarcely discern
the shape of the carriage, although they could touch
its side with their hands.

A soldier stood in the shelter of the vehicle and
opened the door for the American.

" Hurry ! Get in ! " exclaimed Quinnox.

" I wish to know if this is liable to get her into
trouble," demanded Lorry, pausing with one foot on
the steps.

" Get in ! " commanded the soldier who was hold
ing the door, pushing him forward uneasily. He
floundered into the carriage, where all was dry and
clean. In his hand he still carried the keys and the
lantern, the slide of which he had closed before leav
ing the prison yard. He could not see, but he knew
that the trappings of the vehicle were superior. Out
side he heard the soldier, who was preparing to en
ter, say:

" This carriage travels on most urgent business for
Her Royal Highness, captain. It is not to be
stopped."

A moment later he was inside and the door
slammed. The carriage rocked as Quinnox swung
up beside the driver.

" You may as well be comfortable," said Lorry s
companion, as he sat rigid and restless. " We have
a long and rough ride before us."

XIX

THE SOLDIER

Off went the carriage with a dash, the rumble of
its wheels joining in the grewsome roar of the ele
ments. For some time the two sat speechless, side
by side. Outside the thunder rolled, the rain swirled
and hissed, the wind howled and all the horrors of
nature seemed crowded into the blackness of that
thrilling night. Lorry wondered vaguely whither
they were going, why he had seen no flashes of light
ning, if he should ever see her again. His mind
was busy with a thousand thoughts and queries.

" Where are we going? " he asked, after they had
traveled half a mile or so.

" To a place of safety," came the reply from the
darkness beside him.

" Thanks," he said, drily. " By the way, don t you
have any lightning in this part of the world? I
haven t seen a flash to-night."

" It is very rare," came the brief reply.

" Devilish uncommunicative," thought Lorry.
After a moment he asked : " How far do we travel
to-night?"

"A number of miles."

" Then I m going to take off this wet coat. It
261

262 GRAUSTARK

weighs a ton. Won t you remove yours?" He
jerked off the big rain coat and threw it across the
opposite seat, with the keys and the lantern. There
was a moment s hesitation on the part of his com
panion, and then a second wet coat followed the
first. Their rain helmets were also tossed aside.
" Makes a fellow feel more confortable."

" This has been too easy to seem like an escape,"
went on Lorry, looking back reflectively over the
surprises of the night. " Maybe I am dreaming.
Pinch me."

A finger and a thumb came together on the fleshy
part of his arm, causing him to start, first in amaze
ment, then in pain. He had not expected his re
served guardian to obey the command literally.

" I am awake, thanks," he laughed, and the hand
dropped from his arm.

After this there was a longer silence than any
time before. The soldier drew himself into the cor
ner of the scat, an action which repelled further
discussion, it seemed to Lorry, so he leaned back in
the opposite corner and allowed his mind to wander
far from the interior >f that black, stuffy carriage.
Where was he going? When was he to leave Grau-
stark? Was he to see her soon?

Soon the carriage left the smooth streets of Edel
weiss, and he could tell, by the jolting and careen
ing, that they were in the country, racing over a
rough, rocky road. It reminded him of an over
land trip he had taken in West Virginia some
months before, with the fairest girl in all the world

THE SOLDIER 263

as his companion. Now he was riding in her car
riage, but with a surly, untalkative soldier of the
guard, The more he allowed his thoughts to revel in
the American ride and its delights, the more uncon
trollable became his desire to see the one who had
whirled with him in " Light-horse Jerry s " coach.

" I wish to know how soon I am to see your mis
tress," he exclaimed, impulsively, sitting up and
striking his companion s arm by way of emphasis.
To his surprise, the hand was dashed away, and he
distinctly heard the soldier gasp. " I beg you par
don ! " he cried, fearing that he had given pain with
his eager strength.

" You startled me I was half asleep," stammered
the other, apologetically. " Whom do you mean by
my mistress ? "

" Her Royal Highness, of course," said Lorry, im
patiently.

" I cannot say when you are to see the Princess,"
said his companion, after waiting so long that Lorry
felt like kicking him.

" Well, see here, my friend, do you know why I
agreed to leave that place back there? I said I
wouldn t go away from Graustark until I had seen
her. If you fellows are spiriting me away kidnap
ping me, as it were, I want to tell you I won t have
it that way. I must know, right now, where we are
going in this damnable storm."

" I have orders to tell you nothing," said the sol
dier, staunchly.

" Orders, eh ! From whom? "

264 GRAUSTARK

" That is my affair, sir ! "

" I guess I m about as much interested in this
affair as anybody, and I insist on knowing our des
tination. I jumped into this thing blindly, but I m
going to see my way out of it before we go much
farther. Where are we going? "

" You you will learn that soon enough," insisted
the other.

"Am I to see her soon? That s what I want to
know."

" You must not insist," cried the soldier. " Why
are you so anxious to see her? " he asked, sud
denly.

" Don t be so blamed inquisitive," cried Grenfall,
angrily, impatiently. " Tell me where we are going
or I ll put a bullet into you ! " Drawing his revolver,
he leaned over, grasped the guard by the shoulder
and placed the muzzle against his breast.

" For God s sake be calm ! You would not kill
me for obeying orders ! I am serving one you love.
Are you mad? I shall scream if you keep pressing
that horrid thing against my side." Lorry felt him
tremble, and was at once filled with compunction.
How could he expect a loyal fellow to disobey
orders ?

" I beg your pardon a thousand times," he cried,
jamming his pistol into his pocket. "You are a
brave gentleman and I am a fool. Take me where
you will; I ll go like a lamb. You ll admit, how
ever, that it is exasperating to be going in the dark
like this."

THE SOLDIER 265

" It is a very good thing that it is dark," said the
soldier, quickly. " The darkness is very kind to us.
No one can see us and we can see no one."

" I should say not. I haven t the faintest idea
what you look like. Have I seen you at the castle? *

" Yes, frequently."

" Will you tell me your name? "

" You would not know me by name."

"Are you an officer?"

" No ; I am new to the service."

" Then I ll see that you are promoted. I like your
staunchness. How old are you? "

" I am er twenty-two."

"Of the nobility?"

" My father was of noble birth."

" Then you must be so, too. I hope you ll for
give my rudeness. I m a bit nervous, you know."

" I forgive you gladly."

" Devilish rough road, this."

" Devilish. It is a mountain road."

" That s where we were, too."

" Where who were? "

" Oh, a young lady and I, some time ago. I just
happened to think of it."

" It could not have been pleasant."

" You never made a bigger mistake in your life."

" Oh, she must have been pretty, then."

" You are right this time. She is glorious."

" Pardon me ! They usually arc in such adven
tures."

" By Jove, you re a clever one ! "

266 GRAUSTARK

" Does she live in America? "

" That s none of your affair."

" Oh ! " And then there was silence between them.

" Inquisitive fool ! " muttered Gren to himself.

For some time they bumped along over the rough
road, jostling against each other frequently, both en
during stoically and silently. The rain was still fall
ing, but the thunder storm had lost its fury. The
crashing in the sky had abated, the winds were not
so fierce, the night was being shorn of its terrors.
Still the intense, almost suffocating darkness pre
vailed. But for the occasional touch neither could
have told that there was another person on the seat.
Suddenly Lorry remembered the lantern. It was
still lit with the slide closed when he threw it on
the seat. Perhaps it still burned and could relieve
the oppressive darkness if but for a short time. He
might, at least, satisfy his curiosity and look upon
the face of his companion. Leaning forward, he
fumbled among the traps on the opposite seat.

" I think I ll see if the lantern is lighted. Let s
have it a little more cheerful in here," he said. There
was a sharp exclamation, and two vigorous hands
grasped him by the shoulder, jerking him back un
ceremoniously.

" No ! No ! You will ruin all ! There must be
no light," cried the soldier, his voice high and shrill.

" But we are out of the city."

" I know ! I know ! But I will not permit you to
have a light. Against orders. We have not passed
the outpost," expostulated the other, nervously.

THE SOLDIER 267

" What s the matter with your voice? " demanded
Lorry, struck by the change in it.

"My voice?" asked the other, the tones natural
again. " It s changing. Didn t it embarrass you
when your voice broke like that? " went on the ques
tioner, breathlessly. Lorry was now leaning back in
the seat, quite a little mystified.

" I don t believe mine ever broke like that," he
said, speculatively. There was no response, and he
sat silent for some time, regretting more and more
that it was so dark.

Gradually he became conscious of a strange, un
accountable presence in that dark cab. He could
feel a change coming over him; he could not tell
why, but he was sure that some one else was beside
him, some one who was not the soldier. Something
soft and delicate and sweet came into existence, per
meating the darkness with its undeniable presence.
A queer power seemed drawing him toward the
other end of the seat. The most delightful sensa
tions took possession of him ; his heart fluttered
oddly, his head began to reel under the spell.

"Who are you?" he cried in a sort of ecstacy.
There was no answer. He remembered his match-
safe, and, with trembling, eager fingers, drew it
from the pocket of the coat he was wearing. The
next instant he was scratching a match, but as it
flared the body of his companion was hurled against
his and a ruthless mouth blew out the feeble blaze.

" Oh, why do you persist? " was cried in his ears.

" I am determined to see your face," he answered,

268 GRAUSTARK

sharply, and with a little cry of dismay the other
occupant of the carriage fell back in the corner.
The next match drove away the darkness and the
mystery. With blinking eyes, he saw the timid sol
dier huddling in the corner, one arm covering his
face, the other hand vainly striving to pull the skirt
of a military coat over a pair of red trouser-legs.
Below the arm that hid the eyes and nose he saw
parted lips and a beardless, dainty chin ; above, long,
dark tresses strayed in condemning confusion. The
breast beneath the blue coat heaved convulsively.

The match dropped from his fingers, and, as dark
ness fell again, it hid the soldier in the strong arms
of the fugitive not a soldier bold, but a gasping,
blushing, unresisting coward. The little form quiv
ered and then became motionless in the fierce, strain
ing embrace; the head dropped upon his shoulder,
his hot lips caressing the burning face and pouring
wild, incoherent words into the little ears.

"You! You!" he cried, mad with joy. "Oh,
this is Heaven itself! My brave darling! Mine
forever mine forever! You shall never leave me
now ! Drive on ! Drive on ! " he shouted to the men
outside, drunk with happiness. " We ll make this
journey endless. I know you love me now I know
it ! God, I shall die with joy ! "

A hand stole gently into his hand, and her lips
found his in a long, passionate kiss.

" I did not want you to know ! Ach, I am so
sorry ! Why, why did I come to-night ? I was so
strong, so firm, I thought, but see how weak I am.

THE SOLDIER 269

You dominate, you own me, body and soul, in
spite of everything, against my will. I love you
I love you I love you ! "

" I have won against the Princess and the poten
tates ! I was losing hope, my Queen, losing hope.
You were so far away, so unattainable. I would
brave a thousand deaths rather than lose this single
minute of my life. It makes me the richest man
in all the world. How brave you are! This night
you have given up everything for my sake. You
are fleeing with me, away from all that has been
dear to you."

" No, no. You must not be deluded. It is only
for to-night, only till you are safe from pursuit. I
shall go back. You must not hope for more than
this hour of weakness, sweet as it is to me," she
cried.

" You are going back, and not with me? " he cried,
his heart chilling.

" You know I cannot. That is why I hoped
you would never know how much I care for you.
Alas, you have found me out! My love was made
rash by fear. You could never have escaped the
vengeance of Axphain. I could not have shielded
you. This was the only course and I dared not
hesitate. I should have died with terror had you
gone to trial, knowing what I knew. You will not
think me unwomanly for coming with you as I am.
It was necessary really it was ! No one else

could have " But he smothered the wail in

kisses.

270 GRAUSTARK

" Unwomanly ! " he exclaimed. " It was by divine
inspiration. But you witt come with me, away from
Graustark, away from every one. Say that you
will ! "

" I cannot bear to hear you plead, and it breaks
my heart to go back there. But I cannot leave
Graustark I cannot T It would be Heaven to go
with you to the end of the world, but I have others
besides myself to consider. You are my god, my
idol. I can worship you from my unhappy throne,
from my chamber, from the cell into which my heart
is to retreat. But I cannot, I will not, desert Grau
stark. Not even for you ! "

He was silent, impressed by her nobility, her loy
alty. Although the joy ebbed from his craving
heart, he saw the justice of her self-sacrifice.

" I would give my soul to see your face now,
Yetive. Your soul is in your eyes ; I can feel it.
Why did you not let me stay in prison, meet death
and so end all? It would have been better for both
of us. I cannot live without you."

" We can live for each other, die for each other,
apart. Distance will not lessen my love. You know
that it exists ; it has been betrayed to you. Can you
not be satisfied just a little bit with that knowl
edge? " she pleaded.

" But I want you in reality, not in my dreams, my
imagination/

" Ach, we must not talk like this ! There is no
alternative. You are to go, I am to stay. The future
is before us ; God knows what it may bring to us.

THE SOLDIER 271

Perhaps it may be good enough to give us happiness
who knows? Do not plead with me. I cannot
endure it. Let me be strong again ! You will not
be so cruel as to battle against me, now that I am
weak ; it would only mean my destruction. You do
not seek that ! "

His soul, his honor, the greatest reverence he
had ever known were in the kiss that touched her
brow.

" I shall love you as you command without
hope," he said, sadly.

" Without hope for either," she sobbed.

" My poor little soldier," he whispered, lovingly,
as her body writhed under the storm of tears.

" I I wish I were a soldier ! " she wailed. He
comforted her as best he could and soon she was
quiet oh, so very quiet. Her head was on his
shoulder, her hands in his.

" How far do we drive? " he asked, at last.

" To the monastery. We are nearly there, she
answered, in tones far away.

"The monastery? Why do we go there?" he
cried.

" You are to stay there."

" What do you mean? I thought I was to leave
Graustark.

" You are to leave later on. Until the excite
ment is over the abbey is to be your hiding place. I
have arranged everything, and it is the only safe
place on earth for you at this time. No one will
think of looking for you up there."

272 GRAUSTARK

" I would to God I could stay there forever, liv
ing above you," he said, drearily.

" Your window looks down upon the castle ; mine
looks up to yours. The lights that burn in those
two windows will send out beams of love and life
for one of us at least."

" For both of us, my sweetheart," he corrected,
fondly. " You say I will be safe there. Can you
trust these men who are aiding you? "

" With my life ! Quinnox carried a message to
the Abbot yesterday, and he grants you a tempo
rary home there, secure and as secret as the tomb.
He promises me this, and he is my best friend. Now,
let me tell you why I am with you, masquerading so
shamefully "

" Adorably ! " he protested.

" It is because the Abbot insisted that I bring you
to him personally. He will not receive you except
from my hands. There was nothing else for me
to do, then, was there, Mr. Lorry? I was com
pelled to come and I could not come as the Princess
as a woman. Discovery would have meant degra
dation from which I could not have hoped to re
cover The military garments were my only safe
guard."

" And how many people know of your decep
tion? "

" Three besides yourself. Dagmar, Quinnox
and Captain Dangloss. The Abbot will know later
on, and I shiver as I think of it. The driver and
the man who went to your cell, Ogbot, know of the

THE SOLDIER 273

escape, but do not know I am here. Allode you
remember him is our driver."

" Allode ? He s the fellow who saw me er who
was in the throne room."

" He is the man who saw nothing, sir."

" I remember his obedience," he said, laughing in
spite of his unhappiness. " Am I to have no free
dom up here no liberty at all? "

" You are to act as the Abbot or the prior in
structs. And, I must not forget, Quinnox will visit
you occasionally. He will conduct you from the
monastery and to the border line at the proper time."

" Alas ! He will be my murderer, I fear. Yetive,
you do not believe I killed Lorenz. I know that
most of them do, but, I swear to you, I am no more
the perpetrator of that cowardly crime than you.
God bears testimony to my innocence. I want to
hear you say that you do not believe I killed him."

" I feared so at first, no, do not be angry I
feared you had killed him for my sake. But now I
am sure that you are innocent.

The carriage stopped too soon, and Quinnox
opened the door. It was still as dark as pitch, but the
downpour had ceased except for a disagreeable,
misty drizzle, cold and penetrating.

" We have reached the stopping place," he said.

" And we are to walk from here to the gate," said
the Princess, resuming her hoarse, manly tones.
While they were busy donning their rain coats, she
whispered in Lorry s ear : " I beg of you, do not
let him know that you have discovered who I am."

274 GRAUSTARK

He promised, and lightly snatched a kiss, an act
of indiscretion that almost brought fatal results.
Forgetful of the darkness, she gave vent to a little
protesting shriek, fearing that the eyes of the cap
tain had witnessed the pretty transgression. Lorry
laughed as he sprang to the road and turned to as
sist her in alighting. She promptly and thought
fully averted the danger his gallantry presented by
ignoring the outstretched hands, discernible as
slender shadows protruding from an object a shade
darker than the night, and leaped boldly to the
ground. The driver was instructed to turn the car
riage about and wait their return.

With Lorry in the center, the trio walked rapidly
off in the darkness, the fugitive with a sense of
fear that belongs only to a blind man. A litttle light
far ahead told the position of the gate, and for this
they bent their steps, Lorry and Quinnox convers
ing in low tones, the Princess striding along silently
beside the former, her hand in his a fact of which
the real soldier was totally unaware. Reaching the
gate, the captain pounded vigorously, and a sleepy
monk soon peered from the little window through
which shone the light.

" On important business with the Abbot, from
Her Royal Highness, the Princess Yetive," said
Quinnox, in response to a sharp query, spoken in
the Graustark tongue. A little gate beside the big
one opened, and the monk, lantern in hand, bade
them enter.

" Await me here, captain," commanded the slim,

THE SOLDIER 275

straight soldier, with face turned from the light. A
moment later the gate closed and Lorry was behind
the walls of St. Valentine s a prisoner again. The
monk preceded them across the dark court toward
the great black mass, his lantern creating ghastly
shadows against the broken mist. His followers
dropped some little distance behind, the tall one s
arm stealing about the other s waist, his head bend
ing to a level with hers.

"Is it to be good-bye, dearest?" he asked.
" Good-bye forever? "

" I cannot say that. It would be like wishing you
dead. Yet there is no hope. No, no ! We will not
say good-bye, forever," she said, despairingly.

" Won t you bid me hope? "

" Impossible ! You will stay here until Quinnox
comes to take you away. Then you must not stop
until you are in your own land. We may meet
again

" Yes, by my soul, we shall meet again ! I ll do
as you bid and all that, but I ll come back when I
can stay away no longer. Go to your castle and
look forward to the day that will find me at your
feet again. It is bound to come. But how are you
to return to the castle to-night and enter without
creating suspicion? Have you thought of that? "

"Am I a child? Inside of three hours I shall be
safely in my bed and but one person in the castle
will be the wiser for my absence. Here are the
portals." They passed inside the massive doors and
halted. " You must remain here until I have seen

276 GRAUSTARK

the prior," she said, laughing nervously and glanc
ing down at the boots which showed beneath the
long coat. Then she hastily followed the monk,
disappearing down the corridor. In ten minutes
ten hours to Lorry she returned with her guide.

" He will take you to your room," she said breath
lessly, displaying unmistakable signs of embarrass
ment. " The prior was shocked. Good-bye, and
God be with you always. Remember, I love you ! "

The monk s back was turned, so the new recluse
snatched the slight figure to his heart.

" Some day? " he whispered.

She would not speak, but he held her until she
nodded her head.

XX

THE APPROACHING ORDEAL

" The American has escaped ! " was the cry that
spread through Edelweiss the next morning.

It brought undisguised relief to the faces of thou
sands; there was not one who upbraided Baron
Dangloss for his astounding negligence. Never
before had a criminal escaped from the tower. The
only excuse, uttered in woe-begone tone, was that
the prison had not been constructed or manned for
such clever scoundrels as Yankees good name for
audacity. But as nobody criticised, his explanation
was taken good-naturedly and there was secret re
joicing in the city. Of course, everybody wondered
where the prisoner had gone; most of them feared
that he could not escape the officers, while others
shrewdly smiled and expressed themselves as confi
dent that so clever a gentleman could not be caught.
They marveled at his boldness, his ingenuity, his
assurance.

The full story of the daring break for liberty
flashed from lip to lip during the day, and it was
known all over the water-swept city before noon.
Baron Dangloss, himself, had gone to the prisoner s
cell early in the morning, mystified by the continued

277

278 GRAUSTARK

absence of the guard. The door was locked, but
from within came groans and cries. Alarmed at
once, the captain procured duplicate keys and en
tered the cell. There he found the helpless, blood-
covered Ogbot, bound hand and foot and almost
dead from loss of blood. The clothes of the Ameri
can were on the floor, while his own were missing,
gone with the prisoner. Ogbot, as soon as he was
able, related his experience of the night before. It
was while making his rounds at midnight that he
heard moans from the cell. Animated by a feeling
of pity, he opened the slab door and asked if he
were ill. The wretched American was lying on the
bed, apparently suffering. He said something which
the guard could not understand, but which he took
to be a plea for assistance. Not suspecting a trick,
the kindly guard unlocked the second door and
stepped to the bedside, only to have the sick man
rise suddenly and deal him a treacherous blow over
the head with the heavy stool he had secreted be
hind him. Ogbot knew nothing of what followed,
so effective was the blow. When he regained con
sciousness he was lying on the bed, just as the cap
tain had found him. The poor fellow, overwhelmed
by the enormity of his mistake, begged Dangloss to
shoot him at once. But Dangloss had him conveyed
to the hospital ward and tenderly cared for.

Three guards in one of the offices saw a man
whom they supposed to be Ogbot pass from the
prison shortly after twelve, and the mortified chief
admitted that some one had gone through his pri-

THE APPROACHING ORDEAL 279

vate apartment. As the prisoner had taken Ogbot s
keys he experienced little difficulty in getting out
side the gates. But, vowed Dangloss, storrnily, he
should be recaptured if it. required the efforts of all
the policeman in Edelweiss. With this very brave
declaration in mind, he despatched men to search
every street and every alley, every cellar and every
attic in the city. Messengers were sent to all towns
in the district ; armed posses scoured the valley and
the surrounding forests, explored the caves and
brush heaps for miles around. The chagrin of the
grim old captain, who had never lost a prisoner, was
pitiful to behold.

The forenoon was half over before Harry An
guish heard of his friend s escape. To say that he
was paralyzed would be putting it much too mildly.
There is no language that can adequately describe
his sensations. Forgetting his bodyguard, he tore
down the street toward the prison, wild with anxiety
and doubt. He met Baron Dangloss, tired and
worn, near the gate, but the old officer could tell
him nothing except what he had learned from Ogbot.
Of one thing there could be no doubt : Lorry
was gone. Not knowing where to turn nor what
to do, Anguish raced off to the castle, his bodyguard
having located him in the meantime. He was more
in need of their protection than ever. At the castle
gates he encountered a party of raving Axphainians,
crazed with anger over the flight of the man whose
life they had thirsted for so ravenously. Had he
been unprotected, Anguish would have fared badly

280 GRAUSTARK

at their hands, for they were outspoken in their
assertions that he had aided Lorry in the escape.
One fiery little fellow cast a glove in the American s
face and expected a challenge. Anguish snapped his
fingers and sarcastically invited the insulter to meet
him next winter in a battle with snowballs, upon
which the aggressor blasphemed in three languages
and three hundred gestures. Anguish and his men
passed inside the gates, which had been barred to
the others, and struck out rapidly for the castle
doors.

The Princess Yetive was sleeping soundly, peace
fully, with a smile on her lips, when her Prime Min
ister sent an excited attendant to inform her of the
prisoner s escape. She sat up in bed, and, with her
hands clasped about her knees, sleepily announced
that she would receive him after her coffee was
served. Then she thought of the wild, sweet ride
to the monastery, the dangerous return, her en
trance to the castle through the secret subterranean
passage and the safe arrival in her own room. All
had gone well and he was safe. She smiled quaintly
as she glanced at the bundle of clothes on the floor,
blue and black and red. They had been removed
in the underground passage and a loose gown sub
stituted, but she had carried them to her chamber
with the intention of placing them for the time being
in the old mahogany chest that had held so many of
her childhood treasures. Springing out of bed,
she opened the chest, cast them into its depths,
turned and removed the key which had always re-

THE APPROACHING ORDEAL 281

mained in the lock. Then she summoned her
maids.

Her uncle and aunt, the Countess Dagmar (whose
merry brown eyes were so full of pretended dismay
that the Princess could scarcely restrain a smile),
and Gaspon, the Minister of Finance, were awaiting
her appearance. She heard the count s story of the
escape, marveled at the prisoner s audacity, and
firmly announced that everything possible should be
done to apprehend him. With a perplexed frown on
her brow and a dubious twist of her lips, she said:

" I suppose I must offer a reward? "

" Certainly ! " exclaimed her uncle.

" About fifty gavvos, uncle? "

" Fifty ! " cried the two men, aghast.

"Isn t that enough?"

" For the murderer of a Prince? " demanded Gas
pon. " It would be absurd, Your Highness. He is
a most important person."

" Quite so ; he is a most important person. I think
I ll offer five thousand gavvos."

" More like it. He is worth that, at least," agreed
Uncle Caspar.

" Beyond a doubt," sanctioned Gaspon.

" I am glad you do not consider me extravagant,"
she said, demurely. " You may have the placards
printed at once," she went on, addressing the Treas
urer. " Say a reward of five thousand gavvos will be
paid to the person who delivers Grenf all Lorry to me."

" Would it not be better to say delivers Grenf all
Lorry to the Tower ? " submitted Gaspon.

282 GRAUSTARK

" You may say * to the undersigned, and sign my
name," she said, reflectively.

" Very well, Your Highness. They shall be struck
off this morning."

" In large type, Gaspon. You must catch him if
you can," she added. " He is a very dangerous man
and royalty needs protection." With this wise bit
of caution she dismissed the subject and began to
talk of the storm.

As the two young plotters were hastening up the
stairs later on, an attendant approached and in
formed the Princess that Mr. Anguish requested an
audience.

" Conduct him to my boudoir," she said, her eyes
sparkling with triumph. In the seclusion of the
boudoir she and the Countess laughed like children
over the reward that had been so solemnly ordered.

" Five thousand gavvos ! " cried Dagmar, leaning
back in her chair, to emphasize the delight she felt.
"What a joke!"

Tap, tap! came a knock on the door, and in the
same instant it flew open, for Mr. Anguish was in
a hurry. As he plunged into their presence a pair
of heels found the floor spasmodically.

" Oh, I beg pardon ! " he gasped, as if about to fly.
" May I come in ? "

" Not unless you go outside. You are already in,
it seems," said the Princess, advancing to meet him.
The Countess was very still and sedate. " I am so
glad you have come."

" Heard about Lorry ? The fool is out and gone,"

THE APPROACHING ORDEAL 283

he cried, unable to restrain himself. Without a
word, she dragged him to the divan, and, between
them, he soon had the whole story poured into his
ears, the Princess on one side, the Countess on the
other.

" You are a wonder ! " he exclaimed, when all the
facts were known to him. He executed a little dance
of approval, entirely out of place in the boudoir of
a Princess, but very much in touch with prevailing
sentiment. " But what s to become of me? " he
asked, after cooling down. " I have no excuse for
remaining in Graustark and I don t like to leave
him here, either."

" Oh, I have made plans for you," said she. " You
are to be held as hostage."

"What?"

" I thought of your predicament last night, and
here is the solution: This very day I shall issue an
order forbidding you the right to leave Edelweiss.
You will not be in prison, but your every movement
is to be watched. A strong guard will have you
under surveillance, and any attempt to escape or to
communicate with your friend will result in your
confinement and his detection. In this way you
may stay here until the time comes to fly. The
Axphain people must be satisfied, you know. Your
freedom will not be disturbed; you may come and
go as you like, but you are ostensibly a prisoner. By
detaining you forcibly we gain a point, for you are
needed here. There is no other way in which you

284 GRAUSTARK

can explain a continued presence in Graustark. Is
not my plan a good one? "

He gazed in admiration at her flushed cheeks and
glowing e^es.

" It is beyond comparison," he said, rising and
bowing low. " So shrewd is this plan that you make
me a hostage forever ; I shall not mistake its memory
if I live to be a thousand."

And so it was settled, in this pretty drama of de
ception, that Harry Anguish was to be held in Edel
weiss as hostage. At parting, she said, seriously :

" A great deal depends on your discretion, Mr.
Anguish. My guards will Avatch your every action,
for they are not in the secret excepting Quinnox,
and any attempt on your part to communicate
with Grenfall Lorry will be fatal."

" Trust me, Your Highness. I have had much in
struction in wisdom to-day."

" I hope we shall see you often," she said.

" Daily as a hostage," he replied, glancing to
ward the Countess.

" That means until the other man is captured," said
that young lady, saucily.

As he left the castle he gazed at the distant build
ing in the sky and wondered how it had ever been
approached in a carriage. She had not told him
that Allode drove four miles over the winding roads
that led to the monastery up a gentler slope from
the rear.

The next afternoon Edelweiss thrilled with a new
excitement. Prince Bolaroz of Axphain, mad with

THE APPROACHING ORDEAL 285

grief and rage, came thundering into the city with
his court at his heels. His wrath had been increased
until it resembled a tornado when he read the re
ward placard in the uplands. Not until then did he
know that the murderer had escaped and that venge
ance might be denied him.

After viewing the body of Lorenz as it lay in the
sarcophagus of the royal palace, where it had been
borne at the command of the Princess Yetive, he
demanded audience with his son s betrothed, and
it was with fear that she prepared for the trying
ordeal, an interview with the grief-crazed old man.
The castle was in a furore; its halls soon thronged
with diplomatists and there was an ugly sense of
trouble in the air, suggestive of the explosion which
follows the igniting of a powder magazine.

The slim, pale-faced Princess met the burly old
ruler in the grand council chamber. He and his
nobles had been kept waiting but a short time.
Within a very few minutes after they had been con
ducted to the chamber by Count Halfont and other
dignitaries, the fair ruler came into the room and
advanced between the bowing lines of courtiers to
the spot where sat the man who held Graustark in
his grasp. A slender, graceful figure in black, proud
and serious, she walked unhesitatingly to ^Jie old
man s side. If she feared him, if she was impressed
by his power, she did not show it. The little drama
had two stars of equal magnitude, neither of whom
acknowledged supremacy in the other.

Bolaroz arose as she drew near, his guant face

286 GRAUSTARK

black and unfriendly. She extended her hand gra
ciously, and he, a Prince for all his wrath, touched
his trembling lips to its white, smooth back.

" I come in grief and sadness to your court, most
glorious Yetive. My burden of sorrow is greater
than I can bear," he said, hoarsely.

" Would that I could give you consolation," she
said, sitting in the chair reserved for her use at
council gatherings. " Alas ! it grieves me that I can
offer nothing more than words."

" You are the one he would have made his wife,"
said the old Prince, sitting beside her. He looked
into her deep blue eyes and tears sprung to his own.
His voice failed him, and long moments passed be
fore he could control his emotion. Truly she pitied
him in his bereavement.

Then followed a formal discussion of the crime
and the arrangement of details in connection with
the removal of the dead Prince from Graustark to
his own land. These matters settled, Bolaroz said
that he had heard of the murderer s escape, and
asked what effort was being made to recapture him.
Yetive related all that had happened, expressing
humiliation over the fact that her officers had been
unable to accomplish anything, adding that she did
not believe that the fugitive could get away from
Graustark safely without her knowledge. The old
Prince was working himself back into the violent
rage that had been temporarily subdued, and at last
broke out in a vicious denunciation of the careless
ness that had allowed the man to escape. He first

THE APPROACHING ORDEAL 287

insisted that Dangloss and his incompetent assistants
be thrown into prison for life or executed for crimi
nal negligence; then he demanded the life of Harry
Anguish as an aider and abettor in the flight of the
murderer. In both cases the Princess firmly refused
to take the action demanded. She warmly defended
Dangloss and his men, and announced in no uncer
tain tones that she would not order the arrest of
the remaining American. Then she acquainted him
with her intention to detain Anguish as hostage and
to have his every action watched in the hope that a
clue to the whereabouts of the fugitive might be
discovered, providing, of course, that the friend
knew anything at all about the matter. The Duke
of Mizrox and others loudly joined in the cry for
Anguish s arrest, but she bravely held out against
them, and in the end curtly informed them that the
American, whom she believed to be innocent of all
complicity in the escape, should be subjected to no
indignity other than detention in the city under
guard, as she had ordered.

" I insist that this man be cast into prison at once,"
snarled the white-lipped Bolaroz.

Her eyes flashed and her bosom heaved with
anger.

" You are not at liberty to command in Graustark,
Prince Bolaroz," she said, slowly and distinctly, " I
am ruler here."

The heart of every Graustark nobleman leaped
with pride at this daring rebuff. Bolaroz gasped
and was speechless for some seconds.

288 GRAUSTARK

" You shall not be ruler long, madam," he said,
malevolently, significantly.

" But I am ruler now, and, as such, I ask Your
Highness to withdraw from my castle. I did not
know that I was to submit to these threats and in
sults, or I should not have been kind enough to grant
you an audience, Prince though you are. When I
came to this room it was to give you my deepest
sympathy and receive yours, not to be insulted.
You have lost a son, I my betrothed. It ill be
comes you, Prince Bolaroz, to vent your vindictive-
ness upon me. My men are doing all in their power
to capture the man who has so unfortunately es
caped from our clutches, and I shall not allow you
or any one else to dictate the manner in which we
are to proceed." She uttered these words cunningly,
and, at their conclusion, arose to leave the room.

Bolaroz heard her through in surprise and with
conflicting emotions. There was no mistaking her
indignation, so he deemed it policy to bottle his
wrath, overlook the most offensive rebuke his vanity
had ever received, and submit to what, was evidently
a just decision.

" Stay, Your Highness. I submit to you proposi
tion regarding the other stranger, although I doubt
its wisdom. There is but one in whom I am really
interested, the one who killed my son. There is
to be no cessation in the effort to find him, I am
to understand. I now have a proposition. With
me are three hundred of my bravest soldiers. I
offer them to you in order that you may better prose-

THE APPROACHING ORDEAL 289

cute the search. They will remain here and you may
use them in any way you see fit. The Duke of Miz-
rox will linger in Edelweiss, and with him you and
yours may always confer. He, also, is at your com
mand. This man must be retaken. I swear, by all
that is above and below me, he shall be found, if I
hunt the world over to accomplish that end. He
shall not escape my vengeance! And hark you to
this ! On the twentieth of next month I shall de
mand payment of the debt due Axphain. So deeply
is my heart set on the death of this Grenfall Lorry
that I agree now, before all these friends of ours,
that if he be captured, and executed in my presence,
before the twentieth of November, Graustark shall
be granted the extension of time that would have
obtained in the event of your espousal with the man
he killed. You hear this offer, all? It is bound by
my sacred word of honor. His death before the
twentieth gives Graustark ten years of grace. If
he is still at large, I shall claim my own. This offer,
I believe, most gracious Yetive, will greatly encour
age your people in the effort to capture the man we
seek."

The Princess heard the remarkable proposition
with a face deathly pale, heart scarcely beating.
Again was the duty to Graustark thrust cruelly upon
her. She could save the one only by sacrificing the
other.

" We will do all in our power to to prove our
selves grateful for your magnanimous offer," she
said. As she passed from the room, followed by

290 GRAUSTARK

her uncle, she heard the increasing buzz of excite
ment on all sides, the unrestrained expressions of
amazement and relief from her subjects, the patron
izing comments of the visitors, all conspiring to
sound her doom. Which way was she to turn in
order to escape from herself?

" We must catch this man, Yetive," said Halfont,
on the stairway. " There is no alternative."

" Except our inability to do so," she murmured.
In that moment she determined that Grenfall Lorry
should never be taken if she could prevent it. He
was innocent, and it was Graustark s penalty to
pay.

The next day, amidst pomp and splendor, the
Prince of Axphain started on his journey to the
land of his forefathers, to the tombs of his ances
tors, all Edelweiss witnessing the imposing proces
sion that made its way through the north gates of
the town. Far up on the mountain top a man, look
ing from his little window, saw the black, snakelike
procession wind away across the plain to the north
ward, losing itself in the distant hills.

XXI

FROM A WINDOW ABOVE

The longest month in Lorry s life was that which
followed his romantic flight from the Tower. To
his impatient mind, the days were irksome weeks.
The cold monastery was worse than a prison. He
looked from its windows as a convict looks through
his bars, always hoping, always disappointed. With
each of the infrequent visits of Captain Quinnox,
his heart leaped at the prospect of liberty, only to
sink deeper in despair upon the receipt of emphatic,
though kindly, assurances that the time had not yet
come for him to leave the haven of safety into which
he had been thrust by loving hands. From his little
window he could see the active city below, with the
adored castle; to his nostrils came the breath of
summer from the coveted valley, filling him with
almost insupportable longing and desire. Cold were
the winds that swept about his lofty home; ghastly,
grewsome the nights ; pallid and desolate the days.
Out of the world was he, dreary and heartsick, while
at his feet stretched life and joy and love in their
rarest habiliments. How he endured the suspense, the
torture of uncertainty, the craving for the life that
others were enjoying, he could not understand. Big,

291

292 GRAUSTARK

strong and full of vigor, his inactivity was mad
dening; this virtual captivity grew more and more
intolerable with each succeeding day. Would they
never take him from the tomb in which he
was existing? A hundred times had he, in his
desperation, concluded to flee from the monastery,
come what might, and to trust himself to the joyous
world below, but the ever-present though waning
spark of wisdom won out against the fierce, aggres
sive folly that mutinied within his hungry soul. He
knew that she was guarding him with loving, tender
care, and that, when the proper time came, the
shackles of danger would drop and his way would
be cleared.

Still there was the longing, the craving, the lone
liness. Day after day, night after night went by
and the end seemed no nearer. Awake or asleep, he
dreamed of her, his heart and mind always full of
that one rich blessing, her love. At times he was
mad with the desire to know what she was doing,
what she was thinking and what was being done for
her down there in the busy world. Lying on his
pallet, sitting in the narrow window, pacing the halls
or wandering about the cold courtyards, he thought
always of her, hoping and despairing with equal
fervor. The one great question that made his im
prisonment, his inactivity so irksome was : Was he
to possess the treasure he longed so much to call
his own? In those tantalizing moments of despair
he felt that if he were free and near her he could
win the fight against all odds. As it was, he knew

FROM A WINDOW ABOVE 293

not what mischief was working against his chances
in the world from which he was barred.

The prior was kind to him ; everything that could
be done to provide comfort where comfort was a
stranger was employed in his behalf. He lived well
until his appetite deserted him ; he had no ques
tions to answer, for no one asked why he was there;
he had no danger to fear, for no foe knew where
he lived. From the city came the promise of ulti
mate escape; verbal messages from those who loved
him; news of the world, all at long intervals, how
ever. Quinnox s visits were like sunbeams to him.
The dashing captain came only at night and in dis
guise. He bore verbal messages, a wise precaution
against mishap. Not once did he bring a word of
love from the Princess, an omission which caused
the fugitive deep misery until a ray of intelligence
showed him that she could not give to Quinnox the
speeches from her heart, proud woman that she
was.

Anguish sent words of cheer, with commands to
be patient. He never failed to tell him, through
Quinnox, that he was doing all in his power to find
the real murderer, and that he had the secret co
operation of the old police captain. Of course, the
hidden man heard of the reward and the frenzied
search prosecuted by both principalities. He laughed
hysterically over the deception that was being prac
ticed by the blue-eyed, slender woman who held the
key to the situation in her keeping.

It was not until the night of the eighteenth of No-

294 GRAUSTARK

vember that Quinnox confirmed his fears by telling
him of the conditions imposed by Prince Bolaroz.
For some reason, the young offider had deceived
Lorry in regard to the all-important matter. The
American repeatedly had begged for informa
tion about the fatal twentieth, but on all previous
occasions his visitor doggedly maintained a show of
ignorance, vowing that he knew nothing of the cir
cumstances. Finally Lorry, completely out of pa
tience and determined to know the true state of
affairs, soundly upbraided him and sent word to
the Princess that if she did not acquaint him with
the inside facts he would leave the monastery and
find them out for himself. This authoritative mes
sage brought Quinnox back two nights later with
the full story of the exciting conference. She im
plored him to remain where he was, and asked his
forgiveness for having kept the ugly truth from
him. Quinnox added to his anguish by hastily in
forming him that there was a possibility of succor
from another principality. Prince Gabriel, he said,
not knowing that he was cutting his listener to the
heart, was daily with the Princess, and it was be
lieved that he was ready to loan Graustark sufficient
money to meet the demand of Bolaroz. The mere
thought that Gabriel was with her aroused the
fiercest resentment in Lorry s breast. He writhed
beneath the knowledge that she was compelled to
endure his advances, his protestations of love, his
presence.

As he paced his narrow room distractedly a horrid

FROM A WINDOW ABOVE 295

thought struck him so violently that he cried aloud
and staggered against the wall, his eyes fixed on
the face of the startled soldier. Perhaps she might
submit to Gabriel, for in submitting she could save
not only Graustark, but the man she loved. The
sacrifice but no ! he would not believe that such
affliction could come to her! Marry Gabriel! The
man who had planned to seize her and make her his
wanton ! He ground his teeeth and glared at Quin-
nox as if he were the object of his hatred, his vicious
jealousy. The captain stepped backward in sudden
alarm.

" Don t be afraid ! " Lorry cried savagely. " I m
not crazy. It s your news your news ! Does she
expect me to stay up here while that state of affairs
exists down there? Let me see: this is the eigh
teenth, and day after to-morrow is the twentieth.
There is no time to be lost, Captain Quinnox. I
shall accompany you when you leave St. Valentine s
to-night."

" Impossible ! " exclaimed Quinnox. " I cannot al
low that, sir. My instructions are to

" Hang your instructions ! All the instructions on
earth can t compel me to sit up here and see this
sacrifice made. I am determined to see her and put
a stop to the whole affair. It is what I feared would
come to pass. She is willing to sacrifice herself or
half her kingdom, one or the other, in order that I
may escape. It s not right, captain, it s not right,
and I m going to stop it. How soon can we leave
this place? " He was pacing the floor, happy in the

296 GRAUSTARK

decision he had reached, notwithstanding the danger
it promised.

" You are mad, sir, to talk like this," protested the
other, despairingly. " Edelweiss swarms with Ax-
phain soldiers ; our own men are on the alert to win
the great reward. You cannot go to the city. When
a safe time comes, you will be taken from this place,
into the mountains instead of through the city, and
given escort to Dassas, one hundred miles east.
That step will not be taken until the way is perfectly
clear. I tell you, sir, you cannot hope to escape if
you leave the monastery now. The mountains are
full of soldiers every night."

" I didn t say anything about an escape, did I?
On the contrary, I want to give myself up to her.
Then she can have Gabriel thrown over the castle
wall and say to Bolaroz, Here is your man ; I ve
gained the ten years of grace. That s the point,
Quinnox; can t you see it? And I want to say to
you now, I m going whether you consent, or refuse.
I d just as soon be in jail down there as up here, any
how. The only favor I have to ask of yon is that
you do the best you can to get me safely to her.
I must talk to her before I go back to the tower."

* God help me, sir, I cannot take you to her,"
groaned Quinnox, trying to control his nervous ap
prehension. " I have sworn to her that I will keep
you from all harm, and it would be to break faith
with her if I led you into that mob down there."

" I respect your oath, my friend, but I am going,
just the same. I ll see her, too, if I have to shoot

FROM A WINDOW ABOVE 297

every man who attempts to prevent me. I m des
perate, man, desperate! She s everything in the
world to me, and I ll die before I ll see her suffer."

Quinnox calmly placed his hands on the other s
shoulders, and, looking him in the eye, said quietly:

" Her suffering now is as nothing compared to
what it will be if you go back to the Tower. You
forget how much pain she is enduring to avoid that
very suffering. If you care for my mistress, sir,
add no weight to the burden she already carries.
Remain here, as she desires. You can be of no ser
vice down there. I implore you to be consid
erate."

It was an eloquent appeal, and it struck home.
Lorry wavered, but his resolution would not weaken.
He argued, first with Quinnox, then with himself,
finally returning to the reckless determination to
brave all and save her from herself. The soldier
begged him to listen to reason, implored him to re
consider, at last turning in anger upon the stubborn
American with a torrent of maledictions. Lorry
heard him through, and quietly, unswervingly an
nounced that he was ready to leave the monastery
at any time his guide cared to depart. Quinnox
gave up in despair at this, gazing hopelessly at the
man he had sworn to protect, who insisted on plac
ing his head in the lion s jaw. He sat down at the
window and murmured dejectedly:

" What will she say to me what will she say to
me?"

" I shall exonerate you, captain. She can have no

298 GRAUSTARK

fault to find with your action after I have told her
how loyal you are and how how well, how un
reasonable I am," said Lorry, kindly.

" You may never live to tell her this, sir. Then
what is to become of me? I could not look her in
the face again. I could only die ! "

" Don t be so faint-hearted, Quinnox ! " cried
Lorry, stimulated by the desire to be with her, recog
nizing no obstacle that might thwart him in the
effort. " We ll get through, safe and sound, and
we ll untangle a few complications before we reach
the end of the book. Brace up, for God s sake, for
mine, for hers, for your own. I must get to her
before everything is lost. My God, the fear that
she may marry Gabriel will drive me mad if I am
left here another night. Come! Let us prepare to
start. We must notify the Abbot that I am to go.
I can be ready in five minutes. Ye Gods, think of
what she may be sacrificing for me ! "

The distracted captain gloomily watched the nerv
ous preparations for departure, seeing his own dis
grace ahead as plainly as if it had already come
upon him. Lorry soon was attired in the guard s
uniform he had worn from the Tower a month be
fore. His pistol was in his pocket, and the bunch
of violets she had sent to him that very night was
pinned defiantly above his heart. Quinnox smiled
when he observed this bit of sentiment, and grimly
informed him that he was committing an act pro
hibited in Dangloss s disciplinary rules. Officers on
duty were not to wear nosegays.

FROM A WINDOW ABOVE 299

" Dangloss will not see my violets. By the way,
the moon shines brightly, doesn t it? "

" It is almost as light as day. Our trip is made
extremely hazardous for that reason. I am sorely
afraid, rash sir, that we cannot reach the castle
unseen."

" We must go about it boldly, that s all."

" Has it occurred to you, sir, that you are placing
me in a terrible position? What excuse can I have,
a captain of the guard, for slinking about at night
with a man whom I am supposed to be tracking to
earth? Discovery will brand me as a traitor. I
cannot deny the charge without exposing Her Royal
Highness."

Lorry turned cold. He had not thought of this
alarming possibility. But his ready wit came again
to his relief, and with bright, confident eyes he swept
away the obstacle.

" If discovered, you are at once to proclaim me
a prisoner, take the credit for having caught me,
and claim the reward."

" In that case, you will not go to the castle, but
to the Tower."

" Not if you obey orders. The offer of reward
says that I must be delivered to the undersigned.
You will take me to her and not to the Tower."

Quinnox smiled and threw up his hands, as if
unable to combat the quick logic of his companion.
Together they made their way to the prior s cell,
afterward to the Abbot s apartment. It was barely
eleven o clock and he had not retired. He ques-

300 GRAUSTARK

tioned Quinnox closely, bade Lorry farewell and
blessed him, sent his benediction to the Princess and
ordered them conducted to the gates.

Ten minutes later they stood outside the wall, the
great gates having been closed sharply behind them.
Above them hung the silvery moon, full and bright,
throwing its refulgent splendor over the mountain
top with all the brilliancy of day. Never had Lorry
seen the moon so accursedly bright.

" Gad, it is like day," he exclaimed.

" As I told you, sir," agreed the other, reproof in
his voice.

" We must wait until the moon goes down. It
won t do to risk it now. Can we not go somewhere
to keep warm for an hour or so? "

" There is a cave farther down the mountain.
Shall we take the chance of reaching it?"

" By all means. I can t endure the cold after
being cooped up for so long."

They followed the winding road for some dis
tance down the mountain, coming at last to a point
where a small path branched off. It was the path
leading down the side of the steep overlooking the
city, and upon that side no wagon-road could be
built. Seven thousand feet below stretched the
sleeping, moon-lit city. Standing out on the brow
of the mountain, they seemed to be the only living
objects in the world. There was no sign of life
above, below or beside them.

" How long should we be in making the descent? "
asked Lorry, a sort of terror possessing him as he

FROM A WINDOW ABOVE 301

looked from the dizzy height into the ghost-like dim
ness below.

" Three hours, if you are strong."

" And how are we to get into the castle? I hadn t
thought of that."

" There is a secret entrance," said Quinnox, ma
liciously enjoying the insistent one s acknowledg
ment of weakness. " If we reach it safely, I can
take you underground to the old dungeons beneath
the castle. It may be some time before you can
enter the halls above, for the secret of that passage
is guarded jealously. There are but five people who
know of its existence."

" Great confidence is placed in you, I see, and
worthily, I am sure. How is it that you are trusted
so implicitly? "

" I inherit the confidence. The captain of the
guard is born to his position. My ancestors held
the place before me, and not one betrayed the trust.
The first-born in the last ten generations has been
the captain of the guard in the royal palace, possess
ing all its secrets. I shall be the first to betray the
trust and for a man who is nothing to me."

" I suppose you consider me selfish and vile for
placing you in this position," said Lorry, somewhat
contritely.

" No ; I have begun the task and I will complete
it, come what may," answered the captain, firmly.
" You are the only being in the world for whom I
would sacrifice my honor voluntarily, save one."

" I have wondered why you were never tempted

302 GRAUSTARK

to turn traitor to the Princess and claim the fortune
that is represented in the reward."

" Not for five million gavvos, sir ! "

" By George, you are a faithful lot ! Dangloss,
Allode and Ogbot and yourself, four honest men
to whom she trusts her life, her honor. You belong
to a rare species, and I am proud to know you."

The stealthy couple found the cave and spent an
hour or more within its walls, sallying forth after
the tardy darkness had crept down over the moun
tain and into the peaceful valley. Then began the
tortuous descent. Quinnox in the lead, they walked,
crawled and ran down the narrow path, bruised,
scratched and aching by the time they reached the
topmost of the summer houses along the face of the
mountain. After this, walking was easier, but
stealthiness made their progress slow. Frequently,
as they ncared the base, they were obliged to dodge
behind houses or to drop into the ditches by the road
side in order to avoid patroling police guards or
Axphain sleuth-hounds. Lorry marveled at the
vigil the soldiers were keeping, and was somewhat
surprised to learn from the young captain that pre
vailing opinion located him in or near the city. For
this reason, while other men were scouring Vienna,
Paris and even London, hordes of vengeful men
searched day and night for a clue in the city of
Edelweiss.

The fugitive began to realize how determined was
the effort to capture him and how small the chance
of acquittal if he were taken. To his fevered im
agination the enmity of the whole world was shaping

FROM A WINDOW ABOVE 303

itself against him. The air was charged with hatred,
the ground with vengeance, the trees and rocks with
denouncing shadows, while from the darkness be
hind merciless hands seemed to be stretching forth
to clutch him. One simple, loyal love stood alone
antagonistic to the universal desire to crush and kill.
A fragile woman was shielding him sturdily, un
waveringly against all these mighty forces. His
heart thrilled with devotion; his arm tingled with
the joy of clasping her once more to his breast; his
wistful eyes hung upon the flickering light far off
in the west. Quinnox had pointed it out to him, say
ing that it burned in the bedchamber of the Princess
Yetive. Since the memorable night that took him
to the cell in St. Valentine s, this light had burned
from dusk to daylight. Lovingly, faithfully it had
shone for him through all those dreary nights, a
lonely signal from one heart to another.

At last, stiff and sore, they stole into the narrow
streets of Edelweiss. Lorry glanced back and shiv
ered, although the air was warm and balmy. He
had truly been out of the world. Not until this
instant did he fully appreciate the dread that pos
sesses a man who is being hunted down by tireless
foes ; never did man s heart go out in gratitude and
trustfulness as did his toward the strong defender
whose sinewy arm he clasped as if in terror.

" You understand what this means to me," said
Quinnox, gravely, as they paused to rest. " She will
call me your murderer and curse me for my miser
able treason. I am the first to dishonor the name of
Quinnox."

XXII

GREXFAII, LORRY S FOE

The Princess Yetive had not flinched a hair s
breadth from the resolution formed on that stormy
night when she sacrificed pride and duty on the
altar of love and justice. Prince Bolaroz s ultima
tum overwhelmed her, but she arose from the wreck
age that was strewn about her conscience and re
mained loyal, steadfast and true to the man in the
monastery. To save his life was all she could hope
to accomplish, and that she was bound to do at
any cost. She could be nothing to him not even
friend. So long as he lived he would be considered
the murderer of Lorenz, and until the end a price
would hang over his head. She, Princess of Grau-
stark, had offered a reward for him. For that rea
son he was always to be a fugitive, and she, least
of all, could hope to see him. There had been a
brief, happy dream, but it was swept away by the
unrelenting rush of reality. The mere fact that
she, and she alone, was responsible for his flight
placed between them an unsurmountable barrier.

Clinging tenaciously to her purpose, she was still
cognizant of the debt she owed the trusting, loving
people of Graustark. One word from her could

304

GRENFALL LOBBY S FOE 305

avert the calamity that was to fall with the dawn
of the fatal twentieth. All Graustark blindly trusted
and adored her; to undeceive them would be to
administer a shock from which they could never
recover.

Her heart was bursting with love for Lorry; her
mind was overflowing with tender thoughts that
could not be sent to him, much as she trusted to
the honor of Quinnox, har messenger. Hour after
hour she sat in her window and marveled at the
change that had been wrought in her life by this
strong American, her eyes fixed on the faraway
monastery, her heart still and cold and fearful. She
had no confidant in this miserable affair of her heart.
Others, near or dear, had surmised, but no word of
hers confirmed. A diffidence, strange and proud,
forbade the confession of her frailty, sweet, pure
and womanly though it was. She could not forget
that she was a Princess.

The Countess Dagmar was piqued by her reti
cence and sought in manifold ways to draw forth
the voluntary avowal, with its divine tears and
blushes. Harry Anguish, who spent much of his
time at the castle and who invariably deserted his
guards at the portals, was as eager as the Countess
to have her commit herself irretrievably by word or
sign, but he, too, was disappointed. He was, also,
considerably puzzled. Her Highness s manner was
at all times frank and untroubled. She was appar
ently light-hearted ; her cheeks had lost none of their
freshness ; her eyes were bright ; her smile was

306 GRAUSTARK

quick and merry; her wit unclouded. Receptions,
drawing-rooms and State functions found her al
ways vivacious, so much so that her court wondered
not a little. Daily reports brought no news of the
fugitive, but while others were beginning to acquire
a haggard air of worry and uncertainty, she was
calmly resigned. The fifteenth, the sixteenth, the
seventeenth, the eighteenth and now the nineteenth
of November came, and still the Princess revealed
no marked sign of distress. Could they have seen
her in the privacy of her chamber on those dreary,
maddening nights they would not have known their
sovereign.

Heavy-hearted and with bowed heads the people
of Graustark saw the nineteenth fade in the night,
the breaking of which would bring the crush of
pride, the end of power. At court there was the
silent dread and the dying hope that relief might
come at the last hour. Men, with pale faces and
tearful eyes, wandered through the ancient castle,
speechless, nerveless, miserable. Brave soldiers
crept about, shorn of pride and filled with woe.
Citizens sat and stared aimlessly for hours, think
ing of naught but the disaster so near at hand and
so unavoidable. The whole nation surged as if in
the last throes of death. To-morrow the potency of
Graustark was to die, its domain was to be cleft in
twain, disgraced before the world.

And, on the throne of this afflicted land sat the
girl, proud, tender, courageous Yetive. To all
Graustark she was its greatest, its most devoted suf-

GRENFALL LORRY S FOE 307

ferer; upon her the blow fell heaviest. There she
sat, merciful and merciless, her slim white hand
ready to sign the shameful deed in transfer, ready
to sell her kingdom for her love. Beneath her throne,
beneath her feet, cowered six souls, possessors of
the secret. Of all the people in the world, they alone
knew the heart of the Princess Yetive, they alone
felt with her the weight of the sacrifice. With wist
ful eyes, fainting hearts and voiceless lips, five of
them watched the day approach, knowing that she
would not speak and that Graustark was doomed.
Loyal conspirators against that which they loved
better than their lives their country were Dan-
gloss, Quinnox, Allodc, Ogbot and Dagmar. To
morrow would see the north torn from the south,
the division of families, the rending of homes, the
bursting of hearts. She sanctioned all this because
she loved him and because he had done no wrong.

Aware of her financial troubles and pursuing the
advantage that his rival s death had opened to him,
Prince Gabriel, of Dawsbergen, renewed his ardent
suit. Scarce had the body of the murdered Prince
left the domain before he made his presence marked.
She was compelled to receive his visits, distasteful
as they were, but she would not hear his proposi
tions. Knowing that he was in truth the mysterous
Michael who had planned her abduction, she feared
and despised him, yet dared make no public denun
ciation. As Dawsbergen was too powerful to be an
tagonized at this critical time, she was constantly
forced to submit to the most trying and repulsive of

308 GRAUSTARK

ordeals. Tact and policy were required to control
the violent, hot-blooded young ruler from the South.
At times she despaired and longed for the quiet of
the tomb; at other times she was consumed by the
fires of resentment, rebelling against the ignominy
to which she was subjected. Worse than all to her
were the insolent overtures of Gabriel. How she
endured she could not tell. The tears of humiliation
shed after the departure on the occasion of each
visit revealed the bitterness that was torturing this
proud martyr.

He had come at once to renew his offer of a loan,
knowing her helplessness. Day after day he haunted
the castle, persistent in his efforts to induce her to
accept his proposition. So fierce was his passion,
so implacable his desire, that he went among the
people of Edelweiss, presenting to them his pro
posal, hoping thereby to add public feeling to his
claims. He tried to organize a committee of citi
zens to go before the Princess with the petition that
his offer be accepted and the country saved. But
Graustark was loyal to its Princess. Not one of her
citizens listened to the wily Prince, and more than
one told him or his emissaries that the loss of the
whole kingdom was preferable to the marriage he
desired. The city sickened at the thought.

His last and master-stroke in the struggle to per
suade came on the afternoon of the nineteenth, at
an hour when all Edelweiss was in gloom and when
the Princess was taxed to the point where the mask

GRENFALL LORRY S FOE 309

of courage was so frail that she could scarce hide
her bleedin soul behind it.

Bolaroz of Axphain, to quote from the news-de
spatch, was in Edelweiss, a guest, with a few of his
lords, Li the castle. North of the city were encamped
five thousand men. He had come prepared to cancel
the little obligation of fifteen years standing. With
the hated creditor in the castle, his influence hovering
above the town, the populace, distracted by the
thoughts of the day to come, Gabriel played what
he considered his best card. He asked for and ob
tained a final interview with Yetive, not in her bou
doir or her reception room, but in the throne room,
where she was to meet Bolaroz in the morning.

The Princess, seated on her throne, awaited the
approach of the resourceful, tenacious suitor. He
came, and behind him strode eight stalwart men,
bearing a long, iron-bound chest, the result of his
effort with his bankers. Yetive and her nobles
looked in surprise on this unusual performance.
Dropping to his knee before the throne, Gabriel said,
his voice trembling slightly with eagerness and
fear,

" Your Highness, to-morrow will see the turning
point in the history of two, possibly three nations
Graustark, Axphain and Dawsbergen. I have in
cluded my own land because its ruler is most vitally
interested. He would serve and save Graustark, as
you know, and he would satisfy Axphain. It is in
my power to give you aid at this last, trying hour,
and I implore you to listen to my words of sincerest

310 GRAUSTARK

friendship yes, adoration. To-morrow you are to
pay to Prince Bolaroz over twenty-five million
gavvos or relinquish the entire north half of your
domain. I understand the lamentable situation. You
can raise no more than fifteen millions, and you are
helpless. He will grant no extension of time. You
know what I have prcffered before. I come to-day
to repeat my friendly offer and to give unquestioned
bond to my ability to carry it out. If you agree to
accept the 1 n I extend, ten million gavvos for
fifteen years at the usual rate of interest, you can
on to-morrow morning place in the hand of Axphain
when he makes his formal demand the full amount
of your indebtedness in gold. Ricardo, open the
chest!"

An attendant threw open the lid of the chest. It
was filled with gold coins.

" This box contains one hundercd thousand gawos.
There are in your halls nine boxes holding nine
times as much as you see here. And there are nine
times as much all told on the way. This is an
evidence of my good faith. Here is the gold. Pay
Bolaroz and owe Gabriel, the greatest happiness that
could come to him."

There was a dead silence after this theatrical
action.

" The interest on this loan is not all you ask, I
understand," said Halfont, slowly, his black eyes
glittering. " You ask something that Graustark can
not and will not barter the hand of its sovereign.
If you are willing to make this loan, naming a fair

GRENFALL LORRY S FOE 311

rate of interest, withdrawing your proposal of mar
riage, we can come to an agreement."

Gabriel s eyes deadened with disappointment, his
breast heaved and his fingers twitched.

" I have the happiness of your sovereign at heart
as much as my own," he said. " She shall never
want for devotion, she shall never know a pain."

" You are determined, then, to adhere to your
original proposition? " demanded the Count.

" She would have married Lorenz to save her land,
to protect her people. Am I not as good as Lorenz?

Why not give " began Gabriel, viciously, but

Yetive arose, and, with gleaming eyes and flushing
cheeks, interrupted him.

" Go ! I will not hear you not one word ! "

He passed from the room without another word.
Her court saw her standing straight and immovable,
her white face transfigured.

XXIII

THE VISITOR AT MIDNIGHT

Below the castle and its distressed occupants, in
a dark, damp little room, Grenfall Lorry lived a
year in a day. On the night of the eighteenth, or
rather near the break of dawn on the nineteenth,
Captain Quinnox guided him from the dangerous
streets of Edelweiss to the secret passage, and he
was safe for the time being. The entrance to the
passage was through a skilfully hidden opening in
the wall that enclosed the park. A stone doorway,
so cleverly constructed that it defied detection, led
to a set of steps which, in turn, took one to a long,
narrow passage. This ended in a stairway fully a
quarter of a mile from its beginning. Ascending
this stairway, one came to a secret panel, through
which, by pressing a spring, the interior of the castle
was reached. The location of the panel was in one
of the recesses in the wall of the chapel, near the
altar. It was in this chapel that Yetive exchanged
her male attire for a loose gown, weeks before, and
the servant who saw her come from the door at an
unearthly hour in the morning believed she had gone
there to seek surcease from the troubles which op
pressed her.

312

THE VISITOR AT MIDNIGHT 313

Lorry was impatient to rush forth from his place
of hiding and to end all suspense, but Quinnox de
murred. He begged the eager American to remain
in the passage until the night of the nineteenth,
when, all things going well, he might be so fortunate
as to reach the Princess without being seen. It was
the secret hope of the guilty captain that his charge
could be indu cd by the Princess to return to the
monastery, to avoid complications. He promised to
inform Her Highness of his presence in the under
ground room and to arrange for a meeting. The
miserable fellow could not find courage to confess
his disobedience to his trusting mistress. Many
times during the day she had seen him hovering
near, approaching and then retreating, and had won
dered not a little at his peculiar manner.

And so it was that Lorry chafed and writhed
through a long day of suspense and agony. Quin
nox had brought to the little room some candles,
food and bedding, but he utilized only the former.
The hours went by and no summons called him to
her side. He was dying with the desire to hold her
in his arms and to hear her voice again. Pacing to
and fro like a caged animal, he recalled the ride in
West Virginia, the scene in her bedchamber, the
day in the throne room and, more delicious than all,
the trip to the monastery. In his dreams, waking
or sleeping, he had seen the slim soldier, had heard
the muffled voice, and had felt the womanly caresses.
His brain now was in a whirl, busy with thoughts
of love and fear, distraught with anxiety for her

314 GRAUSTARK

and for himself, bursting with the awful conse
quences of the hour that was upon them. What was
to become of him? What was to be the end of this
drama? What would the night, the morrow, bring
about?

He looked back and saw himself as he was a year
ago in Washington, before she came into his life,
and then wondered if it could really be he who was
going through these strange, improbable scenes,
these sensations. It was nine o clock in the evening
when Quinnox returned to the little room. The
waiting one had looked at his watch a hundred times,
had run insanely up and down the passage in quest
of the secret exit, had shouted aloud in the frenzy
of desperation.

" Have you seen her? " he cried, grasping the new
comer s hand.

" I have, but, before God, I could not tell her
what I had done. Your visit will be a surprise, I
fear a shock."

"Then how am I to see her? Fool! Am I to
wait here forever

" Have patience ! I will take you to her to-night
aye, within an hour. To-morrow morning she signs
away the northern provinces, and her instructions
are that she is not to be disturbed to-night. Not
even will she see the Countess Dagmar after nine
o clock. It breaks my heart to see the sorrow that
abounds in the castle to-night. Her Highness in
sists on being alone, and Bassot, the new guard, has
orders to admit no one to her apartments. He is

THE VISITOR AT MIDNIGHT 315

ill, and I have promised that a substitute shall relieve
him at eleven o clock. You are to be the substitute.
Here is a part of an old uniform of mine, and here
is a coat that belonged to Dannox, who was about
your size. Please exchange the clothes you now
have on for these. I apprehend no trouble in reach
ing her door, for the household is in gloom and the
halls seem barren of life."

He threw the bundle on a chair and Lorry at once
proceeded to don the contents. In a very short time
he wore, instead of the cell keeper s garments, a
neat-fitting uniform of the royal guard. He was
trembling violently, chilled to the bone with nervous
ness, as they began the ascent of the stairs leading
to the chapel. The crisis in his life, he felt, was
near at hand.

Under the stealthy hand of Quinnox the panel
opened and they listened intently for some moments.
There was no one in the dimly lighted chapel, so
they made their way to the door at the opposite
end. The great organ looked down upon them and
Lorry expected every instant to hear it burst forth in
sounds of thunder. It seemed alive and watching
their movements reproachfully. Before unlocking
the door, the captain pointed to a lance which stood
against the wall near by.

" You are to carry that lance," he said, briefly.
Then he cautiously peered forth. A moment later
they were in the broad hall, boldly striding toward
the distant stairway. Lorry had been instructed to
proceed without the least sign of timidity. They

316 GRAUSTARK

passed several attendants in the hall and heard Count
Halfont s voice in conversation with some one in an
ante-room. As they neared the broad steps, who
should come tripping down but Harry Anguish. He
saluted Quinnox and walked rapidly down the cor
ridor, evidently taking his departure after a call on
the Countess.

" There goes your hostage," said the captain,
grimly. It had required all of Lorry s self-posses
sion to restrain the cry of joyful recognition. Up
the staircase they went, meeting several ladies and
gentlemen coming down, and were soon before the
apartments of the Princess. A tall guard stood in
front of the boudoir door.

" This is your relief, Bassot. You may go," said
Quinnox, and, with a careless glance at the strange
soldier, the sick man trudged off down the hall, glad
to seek his bed.

" Is she there? " whispered Lorry, dizzy and faint
with expectancy.

" Yes. This may mean your death and mine, sir,
but you would do it. Will you explain to her how I
came to play her false? "

" She shall know the truth, good friend."

" After I have gone twenty paces down the hall,
do you rap on the door. She may not admit you at
first, but do not give up. If she bid you enter or
asks your mission, enter quickly and close the door.
It is unlocked. She may swoon, or scream, and you
must prevent either, if possible. In an hour I shall
return, and you must go back to the passage."

THE VISITOR AT MIDNIGHT 317

" Never ! I have come to save her and her coun
try, and I intend to do so by surrendering myself
this very night."

" I had hoped to dissuade you. But, sir, you can
not do so to-night. You forget that this visit com
promises her."

" True. I had forgotten. Well, I ll go back with
you, but to-morrow I am your prisoner, not your
friend."

" Be careful," cautioned the captain, as he moved
away. Lorry feverishly tapped his knuckles on the
panel of the door and waited with motionless heart
for the response. It came not, and he rapped harder,
a strange fear darting into his mind.

" Well? " came from within, the voice he adored.

Impetuous haste marked his next movement. He
dashed open the door, sprang inside and closed it
quickly. She was sitting before her escritoire, writ
ing, and looked up, surprised and annoyed.

" I was not to be disturbed oh, God ! "

She staggered to her feet and was in his arms be
fore the breath of her exclamation had died away.
Had he not supported her she would have dropped
to the floor. Her hands, her face were like ice, her
breast was pulseless and there was the wildest terror
in her eyes.

" My darling my queen ! " he cried, passionately.
" At last I am with you. Don t look at me like that !
It is really I I could not stay away I could not
permit this sacrifice of yours. Speak to me! Do
not stare like that! "

318 GRAUSTARK

Her wide blue eyes slowly swept his face, piteous
wonder and doubt struggling in their depths.

" Am I awake? " she murmured, touching his face
with her bewildered, questioning hands. " Is it truly
you? " A smile illumined her face, but her joy was
short-lived. An expression of terror came to her
eyes and there was agony in the fingers that clasped
his arm. " Why do you come here? " she cried. " It
is madness ! How and why came you to this room ? "

He laughed like a delighted boy and hastily nar
rated the events of the past twenty-four hours, end
ing with the trick that gave him entrance to her
room.

" And all this to see me? " she whispered.

" To see you and to save you. I hear that Gabriel
has been annoying you and that you are to give up
half of the kingdom to-morrow. Tell me every
thing. It is another reason for my coming."

Sitting beside him on the divan, she told of
Gabriel s visit and his dismissal, the outlook for the
next day, and then sought to convince him of the
happiness it afforded her to protect him from an
undeserved death. He obtained for Quinnox the
royal pardon and lauded him to the skies. So rav
ishing were the moments, so ecstatic the sensations,
that possessed them that neither thought of the con
sequences if he were to be discovered in her room,
disguised as one of her guardsmen. He forgot the
real import of his reckless visit until she commanded
him to stand erect before her that she might see
what manner of soldier he was. With a laugh he

THE VISITOR AT MIDNIGHT 319

leaped to his feet and stood before her attention!
She leaned back among the cushions and surveyed
him through the glowing, impassioned eyes which
slowly closed as if to shut out temptation.

" You are a perfect soldier," she said, her lashes
parting ever so slightly.

" No more perfect than you," he cried. She re
membered, with confusion, her own masquerading, but
it was unkind of him to remember it. Her allu
sion to his uniform turned his thoughts into the
channel through which they had been surging so
turbulently up to the moment that found him tap
ping at her door. He had not told her of his deter
mination, and the task grew harder as he saw the
sparkle glow brighter and brighter in her eye.

" You are a brave soldier, then," she substituted.
" It required courage to come to Edelweiss with hun
dreds of men ready to seize you at sight, a pack of
bloodhounds."

" I should have been a miserable coward to stay up
there while you are so bravely facing disaster alone
down here. I came to help you, as I should."

" But you can do nothing, dear, and you only make
matters worse by coming to me. I have fought so
hard to overcome the desire to be near you; I have
struggled against myself for days and days, and I
had won the battle when you came to pull my walls
of strength down about my ears. Look! On my
desk is a letter I was writing to you. No ; you shall
not read it! No one shall ever know what it con
tains." She darted to the desk, snatched up the

320 GRAUSTARK

sheets of paper and held them over the waxed taper.
He stood in the middle of the room, a feeling of in
tense desolation settling down upon him. How could
he lose this woman?

" To-morrow night Quinnox is to take you from
the monastery and conduct you to a distant city. It
has been all planned. Your friend, Mr. Anguish, is
to meet you in three days, and you are to hurry to
America by way of Athens. This was a letter to
you. In it I said many things and was trying to
write farewell when you came to this room. Do
you wonder that I was overcome with doubt and
amazement yes, and horror? Ach, what peril you
are in here ! Every minute may bring discovery, and
that would mean death to you. You are innocent,
but nothing could save you. The proof is too strong.
Mizrox has found a man who swears he saw you
enter Lorenz s room."

" What a damnable lie ! " cried Lorry, lightly. " I
was not near his room ! "

" But you can see what means they will adopt to
convict you. You are doomed if caught, by my men
or theirs. I cannot save you again. You know now
that I love you. I would not give away half of the
land that my forefathers ruled were it not true.
Bolaroz would be glad to grant ten years of grace
could he but have you in his clutches. And, to see
me, you would run the risk of undoing all that I
have planned, accomplished and suffered for. Could
you not have been content with that last good-bye at
the monastery? It is cruel to both of us to me

THE VISITOR AT MIDNIGHT 321

especially that we must have the parting
again." She had gone to the divan and now dropped
limply among the cushions, resting her head on her
hand.

" I was determined to see you," he said. " They
shall not kill me nor are you to sacrifice your father s
domain. Worse than all, I feared that you might
yield to Gabriel "

" Ach ! You insult me when you say that ! I
yielded to Lorenz because I thought it my duty and
because I dared not admit to myself that I loved
you. But Gabriel ! Ach ! " she cried, soulfully.
" Grenfall Lorry, I shall marry no man. You I
love, but you I cannot marry. It is folly to dream
of it, even as a possibility. When you go from
Graustark to-morrow night you take my heart, my
life, my soul with you. I shall never see you again
God help me to say this I shall never allow you
to see me again. I tell you I could not bear it. The
weakest and the strongest of God s creations is
woman." She started suddenly, half rising. " Did
any one see you come to my room? Was Quinnox
sure? "

" We passed people, but no one knew me. I will
go if you are distressed over my being here."

" It is not that not that. Some spy may have
seen you. I have a strange fear that they suspect
me and that I am being watched. Where is Captain
Quinnox ? "

" He said he would return for me in an hour. The

t

time is almost gone. How it has flown ! Yetive,

322 GRAUSTARK

Yetive, I will not give you up ! " he cried, sinking to
his knees before her.

" You must you shall ! You must go back to the
monastery to-night ! Oh, how I pray that you may
reach it in safety ! And, you must leave this wretched
country at once. Will you sec if Quinnox is out
side the door? Be quick. I am mad with the fear
that you may be found here that you may be taken
before you can return to St. Valentine s."

He arose and stood looking down at the intense
face, all aquiver with the battle between temptation
and solicitude.

" I am not going back to St. Valentine s," he said,
slowly.

" But it is all arranged for you to start from there
to-morrow. You cannot escape the city guard ex
cept through St. Valentine s."

" Yetive, has it not occurred to you that I may not
wish to escape the city guard? "

" May not wish to escape the what do you
mean? " she cried, bewildered.

" I am not going to leave Edelweiss, dearest. It
is my intention to surrender myself to the authori
ties."

She gazed at him in horror for a moment and then
fell back with a low moan.

" For God s sake, do not say that ! " she wailed.
" I forbid you to think of it. You cannot do this
after all I have done to save you. Ach, you are jest
ing; I should have known."

THE VISITOR AT MIDNIGHT 323

He sat down and drew her to his side. Some
moments passed before he could speak.

" I cannot and will not permit you to make such
a sacrifice for me. The proposition of Bolaroz is
known to me. If you produce me for trial you are
to have a ten years extension. My duty is plain.
I am no cowardly criminal, and I am not afraid to
face my accusers. At the worst, I can die but
once."

" Die but once," she repeated, as if in a dream.

" I came here to tell you of my decision, to ask
you to save your lands, protect your people, and to
remember that I would die a thousand times to serve
you and yours."

" After all I have done after all I have done,"
she murmured, piteously. " No, no ! You shall not !
You are more to me than all my kingdom, than all
the people in the world. You have made me love
you, you have caused me to detest the throne which
separates us, you have made me pray that I might
be a pauper, but you shall not force me to destroy
the mite of hope that lingers in my heart. You
shall not crush the hope that there may be a a
some day ! "

"A some day? Some day when you will be
mine? " he cried.

" I will not say that, but, for my sake, for my
sake, go away from this place. Save yourself !
You are all I have to live for." Her arms were
about his neck and her imploring words went to his
heart like great thrusts of pain.

324 GRAUSTARK

" You forget the thousands who love and trust
you. Do they deserve to be wronged? "

" No, no, ach, God, how I have suffered because
of them ! I have betrayed them, have stolen their
rights and made them a nation of beggars. But I
would not, for all this nation, have an innocent man
condemned nor could my people ask that of me.
You cannot dissuade me. It must be as I wish.
Oh, why does not Quinnox come for you ! " She
arose and paced the floor distractedly.

He was revolving a selfish, cowardly capitulation
to love and injustice, when a sharp tap was heard at
the door. Leaping to his feet, he whispered:

" Quinnox ! He has come for me. Now to get
out of your room without being seen ! "

The Princess Yetive ran to him, and, placing her
hands on his shoulders, cried with the fierceness of
despair :

"You will go back to the monastery? You will
leave Graustark? For my sake for my sake! "

He hesitated and then surrendered, his honor fall
ing weak and faint by the pathway of passion.

" Yes ! " he cried, hoarsely.

Tap ! tap ! tap ! at the door. Lorry took one look
at the rapturous face and released her.

" Come ! " she called.

The door flew open, an attendant saluted, and in
stepped Gabriel !

XXIV

OFF TO THE DUNGEON

The tableau lasted but a moment. Gabriel ad
vanced a few steps, his eyes gleaming with jealousy
and triumph. Before him stood the petrified lovers,
caught red-handed. Through her dazed brain strug
gled the conviction that he could never escape;
through his ran the miserable realization that he
had ruined her forever. Gabriel, of all men !

" I arrive inopportunely," he said, harshly, the
veins standing out on his neck and temples. " Do
I intrude? I was not aware that you expected two,
Your Highness ! " There was no mistaking his mean
ing. He viciously sought to convey the impression
that he was there by appointment, a clandestine vis
itor in her apartments at midnight.

" What do you mean by coming to my apartment
at this hour? " she stammered, trying to rescue dig
nity from the chaos of emotions. Lorry was stand
ing slightly to the right and several feet behind her.
He understood the Prince, and quickly sought to in
terpose with the hope that he might shield her from
the sting.

" She did not expect me, sir," he said, and a men
acing gleam came to his eyes. His pistol was in his

325

326 GRAUSTARK

hand. Gabriel saw it, but the staring Princess did
not. She could not take her eyes from the face
of the intruder. " Now, may I ask you why you
are here? "

Gabriel s wit saved hirn from death. He saw
that he could not pursue the course he had begun,
for there was murder in the American s eye. Like
a fox he swerved, and, with a servile promise of sub
mission in his glance, he said:

" I thought you were here, my fine fellow, and I
came to satisfy myself. Now, sir, may I ask why
you are here ? " His fingers twitched and his eyes
were glassy with the malevolence he was subduing.

" I am here as a prisoner," said Lorry, boldly.
Gabriel laughed derisively.

" And how often have you come here in this man
ner as a prisoner? Midnight and alone in the apart
ments of the Princess ! The guard dismissed ! A
prisoner, eh? Ha, what a prison! "

" Stop ! " cried Lorry, white to the lips.

The Princess was beginning to understand. Her
eyes grew wide with horror, her figure straightened
imperiously and the white in her cheeks gave way to
the red of insulted virtue.

" I see it all ! You have not been outside this
castle since you left the prison. A pretty scheme!
You could not marry him, could you, eh? He is not
a Prince! But you could bring him here and hide
him where no one would dare to think of looking
for him in your apartments

With a snarl of rage, Lorry sprang upon him,

OFF TO THE DUNGEON 327

cutting short the sentence that would have gone
through her like the keenest knife-blade.

" Liar ! Dog ! I ll kill you for that ! " he cried,
but, before he could clutch the Prince s throat, Yet-
ive had frantically seized his arm.

"Not that!" she shrieked. "Do not kill him!
There must be no murder here ! "

He reluctantly hurled Gabriel from him, the
Prince tottering to his knees in the effort to keep
from falling. She had saved her maligner s life, but
courage deserted her with the act. Helplessly she
looked into the blazing eyes of her lover and fal
tered :

" 1 I do not know what to say or do. My brain
is bursting ! "

" Courage, courage ! " he whispered, gently.

" You shall pay for this," shrieked Gabriel. " If
you are not a prisoner you shall be. There ll be
scandal enough in Graustark to-morrow to start a
volcano of wrath from the royal tombs where lie her
fathers. I ll see that you are a prisoner ! " He
started for the door, but Lorry s pistol was leveled
at his head.

"If you move I ll kill you!"

" The world will understand how and why I fell
by your hand in this room. Shoot ! " he cried, tri
umphantly. Lorry s hand trembled and his eyes
filled with the tears of impotent rage. The Prince
held the higher card.

A face suddenly appeared at the door, which had
been stealthily opened from without. Captain Quin-

328 GRAUSTARK

nox glided into the room behind the Prince and
gently closed the door, unnoticed by the gloater.
" A prisoner? " sneered Gabriel. " Where is your
captor, pray? "

" Here ! " answered a voice at his back. The Prince
wheeled and found himself looking at the stalwart
form of the captain of the guard. " I am surely
privileged to speak now, Your Highness," he went
on, addressing the Princess, significantly.
" How came you here? " gasped Gabriel.
" I brought my prisoner here. Where should I be
if not here to guard him? "

" When when did you enter this room? "
" An hour ago."

" You were not here when I came ! "
" I have been standing on this spot for an hour.
You have been very much excited, I ll agree, but
it is strange you did not see me," lied Quinnox.
Gabriel looked about helplessly, nonplussed.
" You were here when I came in? " he asked, won-
deringly.

" Ask Her Royal Highness," commanded the cap
tain, smiling.

" Captain Quinnox brought the prisoner to me an
hour ago," she said mechanically.

" It is a lie ! " cried Gabriel. " He was not here
when I entered ! "

The captain of the guard laid a heavy hand on

the shoulder of the Prince and said, threateningly:

" I was here and I am here. Have a care how

you speak. Were I to do right I should shoot you

OFF TO THE DUNGEON 329

like a dog. You came like a thief, you insult the
ruler of my land. I have borne it all because you
are a Prince, but have a care have a care. I may
forget myself and tear out your black heart with
these hands. One word from Her Royal Highness
will be your death warrant."

He looked inquiringly at the Princess, as if anx
ious to put the dangerous witness where he could
tell no tales. She shook her head, but did not speak.
Lorry realized that the time had come for him to
assert himself. Assuming a distressed air, he bowed
his head and said, dejectedly:

" My pleading has been in vain, then, Your High
ness. I have sworn to you that I am innocent of this
murder, and you have said I shall have a fair trial.
That is all you can offer? "

" That is all," she said, shrilly, her mind gradually
grasping his meaning.

" You will not punish the poor people who secreted
me in their house for weeks, for they are convinced
of my innocence. Your captain here, who found
me in their house to-night, can also speak well of
them. I have only this request to make, in return
for what little service I may have given you: For
give the old people who befriended me. I am ready
to go to the Tower at once, captain."

Gabriel heard this speech with a skeptical smile on
his face.

" I am no fool," he said, simply. " Captain,"
shrewdly turning to Quinnox, " if he is your pris
oner, why do you permit him to retain his revolver? "

330 GRAUSTARK

The conspirators were taken by surprise, but
Lorry had found his wits.

" It is folly, Your Highness, to allow this gentle
man and conquering Prince to cross-examine you. I
am a prisoner, and that is the end of it. What
odds is it to the Prince of Dawsbergen how and
where I was caught or why your officer brought me
to you?"

" You were ordered from my house once to-day,
yet you come again like a conqueror. I should not
spare you. You deserve to lose your life for the
actions of to-night. Captain Quinnox, will you kill
him if I ask you to end his wretched life? " Yetive s
eyes were blazing with wrath, beneath which gleamed
a hope that he could be frightened into silence.

"Willingly willingly!" cried Quinnox. "Now,
Your Highness? Twere better in the hall ! "

" For God s sake, do not murder me ! Let me go ! "
cringed the Prince.

* I do not mean that you should kill him now,
Quinnox, but I instruct you to do so if he puts foot
inside these walls again. Do you understand? "

" Yes, Your Highness."

rt Then you will place this prisoner in the castle
dungeon until to-morrow morning, when he is to be
taken to the Tower. Prince Gabriel may accom
pany you to the dungeon cell, if he likes, after which
you will escort him to the gates. If he enters them
again you are to kill him. Take them both away ! "

" Your Highness, I must ask you to write a par-
clon for the good people in whose house the prisoner

OFF TO THE DUNGEON 331

was found," suggested Quinnox, shrewdly seeing a
chance for communication unsuspected by the Prince.

" A moment, Your Highness," said the Prince, who
had recovered himself cleverly. " I appreciate your
position. I have made a serious charge, and I now
have a fair proposition to suggest to you If this
man is not produced to-morrow morning, I take it
for granted that I am at liberty to tell all that has
happened in his room to-night! If he is produced,
I shall kneel and beg your pardon."

The Princess turned paler than ever, and knew
not how she kept from falling to the floor. There
was a long silence following Gabriel s unexpected
but fair suggestion.

" That is very fair, Your Highness," said Lorry.
" There is no reason why I should not be a prisoner
to-morrow I don t see how I can hope to escape
the inevitable. Your dungeon is strong and I have
given my word of honor to the captain that I shall
make no further effort to evade the law."

" I agree," murmured the Princess, ready to faint
under the strain.

" I must see him delivered to Prince Bolaroz,"
added Gabriel, mercilessly.

" To Bolaroz," she repeated.

" Your Highness, the pardon for the poor old peo
ple," reminded Quinnox. She glided to the desk,
stunned, bewildered. It seemed as though death
were upon her. Quinnox followed, and bent near
her ear. " Do not be alarmed," he whispered. " No
one knows of Mr. Lorry s presence here, save the

332 GRAUSTARK

Prince, and if he dares to accuse you before Bolaroz
our people will tear him to pieces. No one will be
lieve him."

" You you can save him, then? " she gasped, joy
ously.

" If he will permit me to do so. Write to him
what you will, Your Highness, and he shall have
the message. Be brave, and all will go well. Write
quickly ! This is supposed to be the pardon."

She wrote feverishly, a thousand thoughts arising
for every one that she was able to transfer to the
paper. When she had finished the hope-inspired
scrawl she arose and, with a gracious smile, handed
to the waiting captain the pardon for those who had
secreted the fugitive.

" I grant forgiveness to them gladly," she said.

" I thank you," said Lorry, bowing low.

" Mr. Lorry, I regret the difficulty in which you
find yourself. It was on my account, too, I am
told. Be you guilty or innocent, you are my friend,
my protector. May God be good to you." She
gave him her hand calmly, steadily, as if she were
bestowing favor upon a subject. He kissed the hand
gravely.

" Forgive me for trespassing on 3 7 our good nature
to-night, Your Highness."

" The five thousand gavvos shall be yours to-mor
row, Captain Quinnox," she said, graciously. " You
have done your duty well." The faithful captain
bowed deep and low, and a weight was lifted from
his conscience.

OFF TO THE DUNGEON 333

"Gentlemen, the door," he said, and without a
word, the trio left the room. She closed the door and
stood like a statue until their footsteps died away in
the distance. As one in a daze, she sat at the desk
till the dawn, Grenfall Lorry s revolver lying before
her.

Through the halls, down the stairs and into the
clammy dungeon strode the silent trio. But before
Lorry stepped inside the cell Gabriel asked a ques
tion that had been troubling him for many min
utes.

" I am afraid I have ah misjudged her "

muttered Gabriel, now convinced that he had com
mitted himself irretrievably.

4 You will find she has not misjudged you," said
the prisoner, grimly. " Can t I have a candle in here,
captain? "

" You may keep this lantern," said Quinnox, step
ping inside the narrow cell. As he placed the lan
tern on the floor, he whispered : " I will return in
an hour. Read this! " Lorry s hand closed over the
bit of perfumed paper.

The Prince was now inside the cell, peering about
curiously, even timorously. " By the way, Your
Highness, how would you enjoy living in a hole like
this all your life? "

" Horrible ! " said Gabriel, shuddering like a leaf.

" Then take my advice ; don t commit any mur
ders. Hire some one else."

The two men eyed each other steadily for a mo
ment or two. Then the Prince looked out of the cell,

334 GRAUSTARK

a mad desire to fly from some dreadful, unseen horror
coming over him.

Quinnox locked the door, and, striking a match,
bade His Highness precede him up the stone steps.

In the cell, the prisoner read and reread the inco
herent message from Yetive :

" It is the only way. Quinnox will assist you
to escape to-night. Go, I implore you; as you love
me, go. Your life is more than all to me. Gabriel s
story will not be entertained and he can have no
proof. He will be torn to pieces, Quinnox says. I
do not know how I can live until I am certain you
are safe. This will be the longest night a woman
ever spent. If I could only be sure that you will do
as I ask, as I beg and implore! Do not think of
me, but save yourself. I would lose everything to
save you."

He smiled sadly as he burned the " pardon." The
concluding sentences swept away the last thought he
might have had of leaving her to bear the conse
quences. " Do not think of me, but save yourself.
I would lose everything to save you." He leaned
against the stone wall and shook his head slowly, the
smile still on his lips.

XXV

K BECAUSE I LOVE HIM "

The next morning Edelweiss was astir early.
Great throngs of people flocked the streets long be
fore the hour set for the signing of the decree that
was to divide the north from the south. There were
men and women from the mountains, from the south
ern valleys, from the plains to the north and east.
Sullen were the mutterings, threatening the faces,
resentful the hearts of those who crowded the shops,
the public places and the streets. Before nine o clock
the great concourse of people began to push toward
the castle. Castle Avenue was packed with the mov
ing masses. Thousands upon thousands of this hum
bled race gathered outside the walls, waiting for news
from the castle with the spark of hope that does not
die until the very end, nursing the possibility that
something might intervene at the last moment to
save the country from disgrace and ruin.

A strong guard was required to keep the mob
Back from the gates, and the force of men on the
wall had been quadrupled. Business in the city was
suspended. The whole nation, it seemed, stood be
fore the walls, awaiting, with bated breath and dis
mal faces, the announcement that Yetive had deeded

335

336 GRAUSTARK

to Bolaroz the lands and lives of half of her sub
jects. The nothern plainsmen who were so soon to
acknowledge Axphain sovereignty, wept and wailed
over their unhappy lot. Prothcr ; and sisters from
the south cursed and moaned in sympathy.

Shortly before nine o clock, Harrjr Anguish with
his guard of six, rode up to the castle. Captain
Dangloss was beside him on his gray charger.

They had scarcely passed inside the gates when
a cavalcade of mounted men came riding up the ave
nue from the Hotel Regengetz. Then the howling,
the hissing, the hooting began. Maledictions were
hurled at the heads of Axphain noblemen as they
rode between the maddened lines of people. They
smiled sardonically in reply to the impotent signs of
hatred, but they were glad when the castle gates
closed between them and the vast, despairing crowd,
in which the tempest of revolt was brewing with un
mistakable energy.

Prince Bolaroz, the Duke of Mizrox and the
Ministers were already in the castle, and had been
there since the previous afternoon. In the royal
palace the excitement was intense, but it was of the
subdued kind that strains the nerves to the point
where control is martyrdom.

When the attendants went to the bedchamber of
the Princess at seven o clock as was their wont,
they found, to their surprise, no one standing guard.

The Princess was not in her chamber, nor had she
been there during the night. The bed was undis
turbed. In some alarm, the two women ran to her

" BECAUSE I LOVE HIM " 337

parlor, then to the boudoir. Here they found her
asleep on the divan, attired in the gown she had
worn since the evening before, now crumpled and
creased, the proof positive of a restless, miserable
night.

Her first act, after awakening and untangling the
meshes in her throbbing, uncomprehending brain,
was to send for Quinnox. She could scarcely wait
for his appearance and the assurance that Lorry was
safely out of danger. The footman who had been
sent to fetch the captain was a long time in return
ing. She was dressed in her breakfast gown long
before he came in with the report that the captain
was nowhere to be found. Her heart gave a great
throb of joy. She alone could explain his absence.
To her it meant but one thing: Lorry s flight from
the castle. Where else could Quinnox be except with
the fugitive, perhaps once more inside St. Valen
tine s? With the great load of suspense off her
mind, she cared not for the trials that still con
fronted her on that dreaded morning. She had
saved him, and she was willing to pay the price.

Preparations began at once for the eventful trans
action in the throne room. The splendor of two
courts was to shine in rivalry. Ten o clock Was the
hour set for the meeting of the two rulers, the victor
and the victim. Her nobles and her ladies, her
Ministers, her guards and her lackeys moved about
in the halls, dreading the hour, brushing against the
hated Axphain guests. In one of the small waiting-
rooms sat the Count and Countess Halfont, the lat-

338 GRAUSTARK

ter in tears. The young Countess Dagmar stood at
a window with Harry Anguish. The latter was
flushed and nervous, and acted like a man who ex
pects that which is unexpected by others. With a
strange confidence in his voice, he sought to cheer
his depressed friends, but the cheerfulness was not
contagious. The sombreness of a burial hung over
the castle.

Half an hour before the time set for the meeting
in the throne room, Yetive sent for her uncle, her
aunt and Dagmar. As Anguish and the latter fol
lowed, the girl turned her sad, puzzled eyes up to
the face of the tall American, and asked :

" Are you rejoicing over our misfortune? You do
not show a particle of regret. Do you forget that
we are sacrificing a great deal to save the life of
your friend? I do not understand how you can be
so heartless."

" If you knew what I know you d jump so high
you could crack those pretty heels of yours together
ten times before you touched the floor again," said
he, warmly.

" Please tell me," she cried. " I knew there was
something."

" But I m afraid so high a jump would upset you
for the day. You must wait awhile, Dagmar." It
was the first time he had called her Dagmar, and she
looked startled.

" I am not used to waiting," she said con
fusedly.

" I think I can explain satisfactorily when I have

" BECAUSE I LOVE HIM " 339

more time," he said, softly, in her ear, and, although
she tried, she could find no words to continue. He
left her at the head of the stairs, and did not see her
again until she passed him in the throne room. Then
she was pale, and brave, and trembling.

Prince Bolaroz and his nobles stood to the right
of the throne, the Graustark men and women of de
gree to the left, while near the door, on both sides,
were to be seen the leading military men of both
principalities. Near the Duke of Mizrox was sta
tioned the figure of Gabriel, Prince of Dawsbergen.
He had come, with half a dozen followers, among a
crowd of unsuspecting Axphainians, and had taken
his position near the throne. Anguish entered with
Baron Dangloss, and they stood together near the
doorway, the latter whiter than he had ever been in
his life.

Then came the hush of expectancy. The doors
swung open, the curtains parted and the Princess
entered.

She was supported by the arm of her tall uncle,
Caspar of Halfont. Pages carried the train of her
dress, a jeweled gown of black. As she advanced
to the throne, calm and stately, those assembled bent
knee to the fairest woman the eye ever had looked
upon.

The calm, proud exterior hid the most unhappy
of hearts. The resolute courage with which her
spirit had been braced for the occasion was remark
able in more ways than one. Among other inspira
tions behind the valiant show was the bravery of a

340 GRAUSTARK

guilty conscience. He composure sustained a shock
when she passed Allode at the door. That faithful,
heart-broken servitor looked at her face with plead
ing, horror-struck eyes, as much as to say : " Good
God, are you going to destroy Graustark for the
sake of that murderer? Have pity on us have
pity!"

Before taking her seat on the throne, she swept
the thrilled assemblage with her wide blue eyes.
There were shadows beneath them and there were
wells of tears behind them. As she looked upon the
little knot of white-faced northern barons, her knees
trembled and her heart gave a great throb of pity.
Still the face was resolute. Then she saw Anguish
and the suffering Dangloss ; then the accusing, merci
less eyes of Gabriel. At sight of him she started
violently and an icy fear crept into her soul. In
stinctively, she searched the gorgeous company for
the captain of the guard. Her staunchest ally was
not there. Was she to hear the condemning words
alone? Would the people do as Quinnox had proph
esied, or would they believe Gabriel and curse
her ?

She sank into the great chair and sat with staring,
helpless eyes, deserted and feeble.

At last, the whirling brain ended its flight and
settled down to the issue first at hand the trans
action with Bolaroz. Summoning all her self-con
trol, she said :

" You are come, most noble Bolaroz, to draw from
us the price of our defeat. We are loyal to our

" BECAUSE I LOVE HIM "

compact, as you are to yours, sire. Yet, in the
presence of my people and in the name of mercy and
justice, I ask you to grant us respite. You are rich
and powerful, we despoiled and struggling beneath
a weight we can lift and displace if given u few short
years in which to grow and gather strength. At this
last hour in the fifteen years of our indebtedness, I
sue in supplication for the leniency that you can so
well accord. It is on the advice of my counsellors
that I put away personal pride and national dignity
to make this request, trusting to your goodness of
heart. If you will not hearken to our petition for a
renewal of negotiations, there is but one course open
to Graustark. We can and will pay our debt of
honor."

Bolaroz stood before her, dark and uncompromis
ing. She saw the futility of her plea.

" I have not forgotten, most noble petitioner, that
you are ruler here, not I. Therefore I am in no way
responsible for the conditions which confront you,
except that I am an honest creditor, come for his
honest dues. This is the twentieth of November.
You have had fifteen years to accumulate enough to
meet the requirements of this day. Should I suffer
for your faults? There is in the treaty a provision
which applies to an emergency of this kind. Your
inability to liquidate in gold does not prevent the
payment of this honest debt in land, as provided for
in the sixth clause of the agreement. All that part
of Graustark north of a line drawn directly from
east to west between the provinces of Ganlook and

34-2 GRAUSTARK

Doswan, a tract comprising Doswan, Shellotz, Vara-
gan, Oeswald, Sesmai and Gattabatton. You have
two alternatives, Your Highness. Produce the gold
or sign the decree ceding to Axphain the lands stipu
lated in the treaty. I can grant no respite."

" You knew when that treaty was framed that we
could raise no such funds in fifteen years," said Hal-
font, forgetting himself in his indignation. Gaspon
and other men present approved his hasty declara
tion.

" Am I dealing with the Princess of Graustark or
with you, sir? " asked Bolaroz, roughly.

" You are dealing with the people of Graustark,
and among the poorest, I. I will sign the decree.
There is nothing to be gained by appealing to you.
The papers, Gaspon, quick ! I would have this trans
action finished speedily," cried the Princess, her
cheeks flushing and her eyes glowing from the flames
of a burning conscience. The groan that went up
from the northern nobles cut her like the slash of a
knife.

" There was one other condition," said Bolaroz,
hastily, unable to gloat as he had expected. "The re
capture of the assassin who slew my son would have
meant much to Graustark. It is unfortunate that
your police department is so inefficient." Dangloss
writhed beneath this thrust. Yetive s eyes went to
him, for an instant, sorrowfully. Then they dropped
to the fatal document which Gaspon had placed on
the table before her. The lines ran together and
were the color of blood. Unconsciously she took the

" BECAUSE I LOVE HIM " 343

pen in her nerveless fingers. A deep sob came from
the breast of her gray old uncle, and Gaspon s hand
shook like a leaf as he placed the seal of Graustark
on the table, ready for use.

" The assassin s life could have saved you,"
went on Bolaroz, a vengeful glare coming to his
eyes.

She looked up and her lips moved as if she would
have spoken. No words came, no breath, it seemed
to her. Casting a piteous, hunted glance over the
faces before her, she bent forward and blindly
touched the pen to the paper. The silence was that
of death. Before she could make the first stroke, a
harsh voice, in which there was combined triumph
and amazement, broke the stillness like the clanging
of a bell.

" Have you no honor? "

The pen dropped from her fingers as the expected
condemnation came. Every eye in the house was
turned toward the white, twitching face of Gabriel
of Dawsbergen. He stood a little apart from his
friends, his finger pointed throneward. The Prin
cess stared at the nemesis-like figure for an instant,
as if petrified. Then the pent-up fear crowded
everything out of its path. In sheer desperation, her
eyes flashing with the intensity of defiant guilt, bitter
rage welling up against her persecutor, she half arose
and cried:

" Who uttered those words? Speak ! "

" I, Gabriel of Dawsbergen ! Where is the pris
oner, madam ? " rang out the voice.

344 GRAUSTARK

" The man is mad ! " cried she, sinking back with a
shudder.

"Mad, eh? Because I do as I did promise? Be
hold the queen of perfidy ! Madam, I will be heard.
Lorry is in this castle ! "

" He is mad ! " gasped Bolaroz, the first of the
stunned spectators to find his tongue.

There was a commotion near the door. Voices
were heard outside.

" You have been duped ! " insisted Gabriel, taking
several steps toward the throne. " Your idol is a
traitress, a deceiver ! I say he is here ! She has seen
him. Let her sign that decree if she dares ! I com
mand you, Yetive of Graustark, to produce this
criminal ! "

The impulse to crush the defiler was checked by
the sudden appearance of two men inside the cur
tains.

" He is here ! " cried a strong voice, and Lorry,
breathless and haggard, pushed through the aston
ished crowd, followed by Captain Quinnox, upon
whose ghastly face there were bloodstains.

A shout went up from those assembled, a shout of
joy. The faces of Dangloss and Allode were pic
tures of astonishment and it must be said relief.
Harry Anguish staggered but recovered himself in
stantly, and turned his eyes toward Gabriel. That
worthy s legs trembled and his jaw dropped.

" I have the prisoner, Your Highness," said Quin
nox, in hoarse, discordant tones. He stood before
the throne with his captive, but dared not look his

" BECAUSE I LOVE HIM " 345

mistress in the face. As they stood there the story
of the night just passed was told by the condition of
the two men. There had been a struggle for suprem
acy in the dungeon and the prisoner had won. The
one had tried to hold the other to the dungeon s
safety, after his refusal to leave the castle, and the
other had fought his way to the halls above. It was
then that Quinnox had wit enough to change front
and drag his prisoner to the place which, most of all,
he had wished to avoid.

" The prisoner ! " shouted the northern nobles, and
in an instant the solemn throne room was wild with
excitement.

" Do not sign that decree ! " cried some one from a
far corner.

" Here is your man, Prince Bolaroz ! " cried a
baron.

" Quinnox has saved us ! " shouted another.

The Princess, white as death and as motionless,
sat bolt upright in her royal seat.

" Oh ! " she moaned, piteously, and, clenching her
hands, she carried them to her eyes as if to shut out
the sight. The Countess Hal font and Dagmar ran
to her side, the latter frantic with alarm. She knew
more than the others.

" Are you the fugitive? " cried Bolaroz.

" I am Grenfall Lorry. Are you Bolaroz? "

" The father of the man you murdered. Ah, this
is rapture ! "

" I have only to say to Your Highness, I did not
kill your son. I swear it, so help me God ! "

346 GRAUSTARK

" Your Highness," cried Bolaroz, stepping to the
throne, " destroy that decree. This brave soldier has
saved Graustark. In an hour your ministers and
mine will have drawn up a ten years extension of
time, in proper form, to which my signature shall be
gladly attached. I have not forgotten my promise."

Yetive straightened suddenly, seized the pen and
fiercely began to sign the decree, in spite of all and
before those about her fairly realized her intention.
Lorry understood, and was the first to snatch the
document from her hands. A half-written Yetive,
a blot and a long, spluttering scratch of the pen told
how near she had come to signing away the lands of
Graustark, forgetful of the fact that it could be of
no benefit to the prisoner she loved.

" Yetive ! " gasped her uncle, in horror.

" She would have signed," cried Gaspon, in won
der and alarm.

" Yes, I would have signed ! " she exclaimed, start
ing to her feet, strong and defiant. " I could not have
saved his life, perhaps, but I might have saved him
from the cruel injustice that that man s vengeance
would have invented. He is innocent, and I would
give my kingdom to stay the wrong that will be
done."

" What ! You defend the dog ! " cried Bolaroz.
" Seize him, men ! I will see that justice is done. It
is no girl He has to deal with now."

" Stop ! " cried the Princess, the command checking
the men. Quinnox leaped in front of his charge.
" He is my prisoner, and he shall have justice. Keep

" BECAUSE I LOVE HIM " 34*7

back your soldiery, Prince Bolaroz. It is a girl you
have to deal with. I will say to you all, my people
and yours, that I believe him to be innocent and that
I sincerely regret his capture, fortunate as it may be
for us. He shall have a fair and a just trial, and I
shall do all in my power, Prince Bolaroz, to secure
his acquittal."

"Why do you take this stand, Yetive? Why
have you tried to shield him? " cried the heart
broken Halfont.

She drew herself to her full height, and, sweeping
the threatening crowd with a challenge in her eyes
cried, the tones ringing strong and clear above the
growing tumult :

" Because I love him ! "

As if by magic the room became suddenly still.

" Behold an honest man. I would have saved him
at the cost of my honor. Scorn me if you will, but
listen to this. The man who stands here accused
came voluntarily to this castle, surrendering himself
to Captain Quinnox, that he might, though innocent,
stand between us and disaster. He was safe from
our pursuit, yet returned, perhaps to his death. For
me, for you and for Graustark he has done this. Is
there a man among you who would have done as
much for his own country? Yet he does this for a
country to which he is a stranger. I must commit
him to prison once more. But," she cried in sud
den fierceness, " I promise him now, before the trial,
a royal pardon. Do I make my meaning clear to
you, Prince Bolaroz? "

348 GRAUSTARK

The white lips of the old Prince could frame no
reply to this daring speech.

" Be careful what you say, Your Highness," cried
the prisoner, hastily. " I must refuse to accept a
pardon at the cost of your honor. It is because I
love you better than my life that I stand here. I
cannot allow you and your people to suffer when
it is in my power to prevent it. All that I can ask is
fairness and justice. I am not guilty, and God will
protect me. Prince Bolaroz, I call upon you to keep
your promise. I am not the slayer of your son, but
I am the man you would send to the block, guilty or
innocent."

As he spoke, the Princess dropped back in the
chair, her rash courage gone. A stir near the door
way followed his concluding sentence, and the other
American stepped forward, his face showing his ex
citement.

" Your Highness," he said, " I should have spoken
sooner. My lips were parted and ready to cry out
when Prince Gabriel interposed and prevented the
signing of the decree. Grenfall Lorry did not kill
the young Prince. I can produce the guilty man ! "

THE GUESSING OF ANGUISH

The startling assertion created a fresh sensation.
Sensations had come so thick and so fast, however,
that they seemed component parts of one grand be
wildering climax. The new actor in the drama held
the center of the stage undisputed.

" Harry ! " cried Lorry.

"Prince Gabriel, why do you shake like a leaf?
It is because you know what I am going to say? "
exclaimed Anguish, pointing his finger accusingly
at the astonished Prince of Dawsbergen.

Gabriel s lips parted, but nothing more than a
gasp escaped them. Involuntarily his eyes sought
the door, then the windows, the peculiar, uncontroll
able look of the hunted coming into them. Bolaroz
allowed his gaze to leap instantly to that pallid
face and every eye in the room followed. Yetive
was standing again, her face glowing.

" An accomplice has confessed all. I have the
word of the man who saw the crime committed. I
charge Prince Gabriel with the murder of His High
ness, Prince Lorenz."

With a groan, Gabriel threw his hands to his
heart and tottered forward, glaring at the merciless
face of the accuser.

349

350 GRAUSTARK

" Confessed ! Betrayed ! " he faltered. Then he
whirled like a maniac upon his little coterie of fol
lowers. " Vile traitor ! " he shrieked, " I will drink
your heart s blood ! "

With a howl he leaped toward one of the men,
a dark-faced nobleman named Berrowag. The
latter evaded him and rushed toward the door, cry
ing:

" It is a lie ! a lie ! He has tricked you ! I did not
confess ! "

The Prince was seized by his friends, struggling
and cursing. A peculiar smile lit up the face of
Harry Anguish.

" I repeat, he is the assassin ! "

Gabriel broke from the detaining hands and draw
ing a revolver, rushed for the door.

" Out of the way ! I will not be taken alive ! "

Allode met him at the curtains and grasped him
in his powerful arms, Baron Dangloss and others
tearing the weapon from his hand. The utmost con
fusion reigned women screaming, men shouting
and above all could be heard the howls of the accused
Prince.

" Let me go ! Curse you ! Curse you ! I will not
surrender! Let me kill that traitor! Let me at
him ! " Berrowag had been seized by willing hands,
and the two men glared at each other, one crazy
with rage, the other shrinking with fear.

Dangloss and Allode half carried, half dragged
the Prince forward. As he nearcd Bolaroz and the
Princess he collapsed and became a trembling, moan-

THE GUESSING OF ANGUISH 351

ing suppliant for mercy. Anguish s accusation had
struck home.

" Prince Bolaroz, I trust you will not object
if the Princess Yetive substitutes the true assassin
for the man named in your promise to Graustark,"
said Anguish, dramatically. Bolaroz, as if coming
from a dream, turned and knelt before the
throne.

" Most adorable Yetive," he said, " I sue for par
don. I bow low and lay my open heart before the
truest woman in the world." He kissed the black
lace hem of her gown and arose. " I am your friend
and ally; Axphain and Graustark will live no more
with hatred in their hearts. From you I have learned
a lesson in justice and constancy."

Prince Gabriel was raving like a madman as the
officers hurried him and Berrowag from the room.
A shout went up from those assembled. Its echo,
reaching the halls, then the gardens, was finally taken
up by the waiting masses beyond the gates. The
news flew like wild-fire. Rejoicing, such as had never
been known, shook Edelweiss until the monks on the
mountain looked down in wonder.

After the dazed and happy throng about the throne
had heaped its expressions of love and devotion upon
the radiant Princess a single figure knelt in subjec
tion, just as she was preparing to depart. It was the
Duke of Mizrox.

" Your Royal Highness, Mizrox is ready to pay
his forfeit. My life is yours," he said, calmly. She
did not comprehend until her uncle reminded her

352 GRAUSTARK

of the oath Mizrox had taken the morning after the
murder.

" He swore, on his life, that you killed Lorenz,"
she said, turning to Lorry.

" I was wrong, but I am willing to pay the pen
alty. My love for Lorenz was greater than my dis
cretion. That is my only excuse, but it is one you
should not accept," said Mizrox, as coolly as if an
nouncing the time of day. Lorry looked first at him
and then at the Princess, bewildered and uncertain.

" I have no ill will against you, my Lord Duke.
Release him from his bond, Your Highness."

" Gladly, since you refuse to hold him to his oath,"
she said.

" I am under an eternal obligation to you, sir, for
your leniency, and I shall ever revere the Princess
who pardons so graciously the gravest error."

Yetive begged Bolaroz to continue to make the
Court his home while in Graustark, and the old
Prince responded with the declaration that he would
remain long enough to sign and approve the new
covenant, at least. Before stepping from the throne,
Yetive called in low tones to Lorry, a pretty flush
mantling her cheek :

" Will you come to me in half an hour? "

" For my reward? " he asked, eagerly.

" Ach ! " she cried, softly, reprovingly. Count
Halfont s face took on a troubled expression as he
caught the swift communication in their eyes. After
all, she was a Princess.

She passed from the room beside Hal font, proud

THE GUESSING OF ANGUISH 353

and happy in the victory over despair, glorying in
the exposure of her heart to the world, her blood
tingling and dancing with the joys of anticipation.
Lorry and Anguish, the wonder and admiration of
all, were given a short but convincing levee in the
hallway. Lords and ladies praised and lauded them,
overwhelming them with the homage that comes to
the brave. But Gaspon uttered one wish that struck
Lorry s warm, leaping heart like a piece of ice.

" Would to God that you were a Prince of the
realm," said the minister of finance, a look of regret
and longing in his eyes. That wish of Gaspon s
sent Lorry away with the sharp steel of desolation,
torturing intensely as it drove deeper and deeper
the reawakened pangs of uncertainty. There still
remained the fatal distance between him and the ob
ject of his heart s desire.

He accompanied Captain Quinnox to his quarters,
where he made himself presentable before starting
for the enchanted apartment in the far end of the
castle. Eager, burning passion throbbed side by
side with the cold pulsings of fear, a trembling race
between two unconquerable emotions. Passion longed
for the voice, the eyes, the caresses ; fear cried aloud
in every troubled throb : " You will see her and kiss
her and then you will be banished."

The two emotions thus thrown together, clashing
fiercely for supremacy, at last wove themselves into
a single, solid, uncompromising whole. Out of the
two grew an aggressive determination not to be
thwarted. Love and fear combined to give him

354 GRAUSTARK

strength; from his eyes fled the hopeless look, from
his brain the doubt, from his blood the chill.

" Quinnox, give me your hand don t mind the
blood ! You have been my friend, and you have served
her almost to the death. I injured and would have
killed you in that cell, but it was not in anger. Will
you be my friend in all that is to follow ? "

" She has said that she lovos you," said the cap
tain, returning the hand clasp. " I am at your
service as well as hers."

A few moments later Lorry was in her presence.
What was said or done during the half hour that
passed between his entrance and the moment that
brought them side by side from the room need not
be told. That the interview had had its serious side
was plain. The troubled, anxious eyes of the girl
and the rebellious, dogged air of the man told of a
conflict now only in abeyance.

" I will never give you up," he said, as they came
from the door. A wistful gleam flickered in her
eyes, but she did not respond in words.

Near the head -f the stairway an animated group
of p6"sons lingered. Harry Anguish was in the
cent.?! and the Countess Dagmar was directly in
fiont of him, looking up with sparkling eyes and
p.ir^ d lipo The Count and Countess HalfoVc, Gas-
pon, the B^ron Dr,ngl <ss. the Duke of Mizrcx, wfth
other ladies and gentlemen, v, r ere being entertained
by the gay-spirited stranger.

" Here hj comes," cried the latter, as he caught
sight of the approaching coupl~.

THE GUESSING OF ANGUISH 355

" I am delighted to see you, Harry. You were
the friend in need, old man," said Lorry, wringing
the other s hand. Yetive gave him her hand, her
blue eyes overflowing.

" Mr. Anguish had just begun to tell us how he

how he " began Dagmar, but paused helplessly,

looking to him for relief.

" Go ahead, Countess ; it isn t very elegant, but it s
the way I said it. How I got next to Gabriel is
what she wants to say. Perhaps Your Highness
would like to know all about the affair that ended so
tragically. It s very quickly told," said Anguish.

" I am deeply interested," said the Princess, eag
erly.

" Well, in the first place, it was all a bluff," said
he, coolly.

" A what ! " demanded Dagmar.

" Bluff," responded Harry, briefly ; " American
patois, dear Countess."

" In what respect," asked Lorry, beginning to un
derstand.

" In all respects. I didn t have the slightest sign
of proof against the festive Prince."

" And you you did all that * on a bluff ? " gasped
the other.

" Do I understand you to say that you have no
evidence against Gabriel? " asked Halfont, dum-
founded.

" Not a particle."

" But you said his confederate had confessed,"
protested Dangloss.

356 GRAUSTARK

" I didn t know that he had a confederate, and I
wasn t sure that he was guilty of the crime," boasted
Anguish, complacently enjoying the stupefaction.

" Then why did you say so? " demanded Dangloss,
excited beyond measure.

" Oh, I just guessed at it ! "

" God save us ! " gasped Baron Dangloss, Chief of
Police.

" Guessed at it? " cried Mizrox.

" That s it. It was a bold stroke, but it won.
Now, I ll tell you this much. I was morally certain
that Gabriel killed the Prince. There was no way
on earth to prove it, however, and I ll admit it was
intuition or something of that sort which convinced
me. He had tried to abduct the Princess, and he
was madly jealous of Lorenz. Although he knew
there was to be a duel, he was not certain that Lo
renz would lose, so he adapted a clever plan to get
rid of two rivals by killing one and casting suspicion
on the other. These deductions I made soon after
the murder, but, of course, could secure no proof.
Early this morning, at the hotel, I made up my mind
to denounce him suddenly if I had the chance, risk
ing failure but hoping for such an exhibition as that
which you saw. It was clear to me that he had an
accomplice to stand guard while he did the stabbing,
but I did not dream it was Berrowag. Lorry s sen
sational appearance, when I believed him to be far
away from here, disturbed me greatly, but it made
it all the more necessary that I should take the risk
with Gabriel. As I watched him I became abso-

THE GUESSING OF ANGUISH 357

lutely convinced of his guilt. The only way to ac
cuse him was to do it boldly and thoroughly, so I
rang in the accomplice and the witness features.
You all know how the bluff worked."

" And you had no more proof than this ? " asked
Dangloss, weakly.

" That s all," laughed the delighted strategist.

Dangloss stared at him for a moment, then threw
up his hands and walked away, shaking his head,
whether in stupefied admiration or utter disbelief, no
one knew. The others covered Anguish with com
pliments, and he was more than ever the hero of the
day. Such confidence paralyzed the people. The
only one who was not overcome with astonishment
was his countryman.

" You did it well," he said in an undertone to
Anguish ; " devilish well."

" You might at least say I did it to the queen s
taste," growled Anguish, meaningly.

" Well, then, you did," laughed Lorry.

ON THE BALCONY AGAIN

Three persons in the royal castle of Graustark,
worn by the dread and anxiety of weeks, fatigued
by the sleepless nights just past, slumbered through
the long afternoon with the motionless, deathlike
sleep of the utterly fagged. Yetive, in her dark
ened bedchamber, dreamed, with smiling lips, of a
tall soldier and a throne on which cobwebs multi
plied. Grenfall Lorry saw in his dreams a slim sol
dier with troubled face and averted, timid eyes,
standing guard over him with a brave, stiff back and
chin painfully uplifted. Captain Quinnox dreamed
not, for his mind was tranquil in the assurance that
he had been forgiven by the Princess.

While Lorry slept in the room set apart for him,
Anguish roamed the park with a happy-faced, slen
der young lady, into whose ears he poured the his
tory of a certain affection, from the tender begin
ning to the distracting end. And she smiled and
trembled with delight, closing not her ears against
the sound of his voice nor her heart to the love that
craved admission. They were not dreaming.

After dinner that evening Lorry led the Princess
358

ON THE BALCONY AGAIN 359

out into the moonlit night. The November breezes
were soft and balmy and the shadows deep.

" Let us leave the park to Dagmar and her hero, to
the soldiers and the musicians," said Yetive. " There
is a broad portico here, with the tenderest of mem
ories. Do you remember a night like this, a month
or more ago? the moon, the sentinel and some sor
rows? I would again stand where we stood on that
night and again look up to the moon and the solemn
sentinel, but not as we saw them then, with heart
ache and evasion."

" The balcony, then, without the old restrictions,"
Lorry agreed. " I want to see that dark old monas
tery again, and to tell you how I looked from its
lofty windows through the chill of wind and the
chill of life into the fairest Eden that was ever de
nied man."

" In an hour, then, I will meet you there."
" I must correct you. In an hour you will find me
there."

She left him, retiring with her aunt and the Coun
tess Dagmar. Lorry remained in the hall with Hal-
font, Prince Bolaroz, Mizrox and Anguish. The
conversation ran once more into the ever-recurring
topic of the day, Gabriel s confession. The Prince
of Dawsbergen was confined in the Tower with his
confederate, Berrowag. Reports from Dangloss late
in the afternoon conveyed the intelligence that
the prisoner had fallen into melancholia. Berro
wag admitted to the police that he had stood guard
at the door while Gabriel entered the Prince s room

360 GRAUSTARK

and killed him as he slept. He described the cun
ning, deliberate effort to turn suspicion to the Amer
ican by leaving bloodstains. The other Dawsbergen
nobles, with the exception of two who had gone to
the capital of their country with the news of the
catastrophe, remained close to the hotel. One of
them confessed that but little sympathy would be
felt at home for Gabriel, who was hated by his sub
jects. Already there was talk among them of Prince
Dantan, his younger brother, as his successor to the
throne. The young Prince was a favorite with the
people.

Bolaroz was pleased with the outcome of the
sensational accusation and the consequent removal
of complications which had in reality been unpleas
ant to him.

One feature of the scene in the throne room was
not discussed, although it was uppermost in the
minds of all. The positive stand taken by the Prin
cess and her open avowal of love for the dashing
American were never to be forgotten. The serious
wrinkles on the brow of Halfont and the faraway
expression that came frequently to his eyes revealed
the nature of his thoughts. The greatest problem
of them all was still to be solved.

As they left the room he dropped behind and
walked out beside Lorry, rather timidly detaining
him until the others were some distance ahead.

" You were closeted with the Princess this morn
ing, Mr. Lorry, and perhaps you can give me the
information I desire. She has called a meeting of

ON THE BALCONY AGAIN 361

the ministers and leading men of the country for to
morrow morning. Do you know why she has issued
this rather unusual call? She did not offer any ex
planation to me."

" I am only at liberty to say, your excellency, that
it concerns the welfare of Graustark," answered the
other, after a moment s thought. They walked on
in silence for some distance.

" I am her uncle, sir, but I love her as I would
my own child. My life has been given to her from
the day that her mother, my sister, died. You will
grant me the right to ask you a plain question. Have
you told her that you love her? " The Count s face
was drawn and white.

" I have, sir. I loved her before I knew she was
a Princess. As her protector, it was to you that I
would have told the story of my unfortunate love
long ago, but my arrest and escape prevented. It
was not my desire or intention to say to her what I
could not speak about to you. I do not want to be
looked upon as a coward who dares not face difficul
ties. My love has not been willingly clandestine,
and it has been in spite of her most righteous objec
tions. We have both seen the futility of love, how
ever strong and pure it may be. I have hoped, your
excellency, and always shall."

" She has confessed her love to your privately? "
asked Halfont.

" Against her will, against her judgment, sir."

" Then the worst has come to pass," groaned the
old Count. Neither spoke for some time. They

362 GRAUSTARK

were near the foot of the staircase when Halfont
paused and grasped Lorry s arm. Steadily they
looked into each other s eyes.

" I admire you more than any man I have ever
known," said the Count, huskily. " You are the
soul of honor, of courage, of manliness. But, my
God, you cannot become the husband of a Princess
of Graustark! I need not tell you that, however.
You must surely understand."

" I do understand," said Lorry, dizzily. " I am
not a prince, as you are saying over and over again
to yourself. Count Halfont, every born American
may become ruler of the greatest nation in the world
the United States. His home is his kingdom ; his
wife, his mother, his sisters are his queens and his
princesses ; his fellow citizens are his admiring sub
jects if he is wise and good. In my land you will
find the poor man climbing to the highest pinnacle,
side by side with the rich man. The woman I love
is a Princess. Had she been the lowliest maid in
all that great land of ours, still would she have been
my queen, I her king. When first I loved the mis
tress of Graustark she was, you must not forget,
Miss Guggenslockcr. I have said all this to you, sir,
not in egotism nor in bitterness, but to show my
right to hope in the face of all obstacles. We recog
nize little as impossible. Until death destroys this
power to love and to hope I must say to you that I
shall not consider the Princess Yetive beyond my
reach. Frankly, I cannot, sir."

ON THE BALCONY AGAIN 363

The Count heard him through, unconscious ad
miration mingling with the sadness in his eyes.

" There are some obstacles that bravery and per
severance cannot overcome, my friend," he said,
slowly. " One of them is fate."

" As fate is not governed by law or custom, I have
the best reason in the world to hope," said Lorry,
yet modestly.

" I would indeed, sir, that you were a Prince of
the realm," fervently cried the Count, and Lorry
was struck by the fact that he repeated, word for
word, the wish Gaspon had uttered some hours be
fore.

By this time they were joined by the others,
whereupon Grenfall hurried eagerly to the balcony,
conscious of being half an hour early, but glad of
the chance afforded for reflection and solitude. Sit
ting on the broad stone railing he leaned back against
a pillar and looked into the night for his thoughts.
Once more the moon was gleaming beyond St. Val
entine s, throwing against the sky a jagged silhouette
of frowning angles, towering gables and monstrous
walls, the mountain and the monastery blending into
one great misty product of the vision. Voices came
up from below, as they did on that night five weeks
ago, bringing the laughter and song of happy hearts.
Music swelled through the park from the band gal
lery; from afar off came the sounds of revelry. The
people of Edelweiss were rejoicing over the unex
pected deliverance from a fate so certain that the
escape seemed barely short of miraculous.

364 GRAUSTARK

Every sound, every rustle of the wind through
the plants that were scattered over the balcony
caused him to look toward the door through which
she must come to him.

At last she appeared, and he hastened to meet her.
As he took her hands in his, she said softly, dream
ily, looking over his shoulder toward the mountain s
crest:

" The same fair moon," and smiled into his eyes.

" The same fair maid and the same man," he
added. " I believe the band is playing the same air ;
upon my soul, I do."

" Yes, the same air, La Paloma. It is my lullaby.
Come, let us walk. I cannot sit quietly now. Talk
to me. Let me listen and be happy."

Slowly they paced the wide balcony, through the
moonlight and the shadows, her hand resting on his
arm, his clasping it gently. Love obstructs the flow
of speech ; the heart-beats choke back the words and
fill the throat. Lorry talked but little, she not at all.
Times there were when they covered the full length
of the balcony without a word. And yet they under
stood each other. The mystic, the enchanting
silence of love was fraught with a conversation felt,
not heard.

" Why are you so quiet? " he asked, at last, stop
ping near the rail.

" I cannot tell you why. It seems to me that I
am afraid of you," she answered, a shy quaver in
her voice.

" Afraid of me? I don t understand."

ON THE BALCONY AGAIN 365

" Nor do I. You are not as you were before this
morning. You are different yes, you make me
feel that I am weak and helpless and that you can
say to me come and go and I must obey. Isn t it
odd that I, who have never known submissiveness,
should so suddenly find myself tyrannized? " she
asked, smilingly faintly.

" Shall I tell you why you are afraid of me? " he
asked.

" You will say it is because I am forgetting to be
a Princess."

" No ; it is because you no longer look upon me as;
you did in other days. It is because I am a possi
bility, an entity instead of a shadow. Yesterday
you were the Princess and looked down upon the
impossible suitor; to-day you find that you have
given yourself to him and that you do not regard the
barrier as insurmountable. You were not timid
until you found your power to resist gone. To-day
you admit that I may hope, and in doing so you
open a gate through the walls of your pride and
prejudice that can never be closed against the love
within and the love without. You are afraid of me
because I am no longer a dream, but a reality. Am
I not right, Yetive? "

She looked out over the hazy, moonlit park.

" Yesterday I might have disputed all you say ;
to-day I can deny nothing."

Leaning upon the railing, they fell into a silent
study of the parade ground and its strollers. Their
thoughts were not of the walkers and chatterers, nor

366 GRAUSTARK

of the music, nor of the night. They were of the
day to come.

" I shall never forget how you said because I love
him, this morning, sweetheart," said Lorry, betray
ing his reflections. " You defied the whole world
in those four words. They were worth dying for."

" How could I help it? You must not forget that
you had just leaped into the lion s den defenseless,
because you loved me. Could I deny you then?
Until that momnt I had been the Princess ada
mant ; in a second s time you swept away every safe
guard, every battlement, and I surrendered as only
a woman can. But it really sounded shocking, didn t
it? So theatrical."

" Don t look so distressed about it, dear. You
couldn t help it, remember," he said, approvingly.

" Ach, I dread to-morrow s ordeal ! " she said, and
he felt the arm that touched his own tremble. " What
will they say ? What will they do ? "

" To-morrow will tell. It means a great deal to
both of us. If they will not submit what then? "

" What then what then? " she murmured, faintly.

Across the parade, coming from the direction of
the fountain, Harry Anguish and Dagmar were
slowly walking. They were very close together, an
his head was bent until it almost touched hers. As
they drew nearer, the dreamy watchers on the bal
cony recognized them.

" They are very happy," said Lorry, knowing that
she was also watching the strollers.

ON THE BALCONY AGAIN 367

" They are so sure of each other," she replied,
sadly.

When almost directly beneath the rail, the Coun
tess glanced upward, impelled by the strange instinct
of an easily startled love, confident that prying eyes
were upon her. She saw the dark forms leaning
over the rail and rather jerkily brought her com
panion to a standstill and to a realization of his posi
tion. Anguish turned his eyes aloft.

" Can you, fair maid, tell me the names of those
beautiful stars I see in the dark dome above? " he
asked, in a loud, happy voice. " Oh, can they be
eyes? "

" Eyes, most noble sir," replied his companion.
" There are no stars so bright."

" Methought they were diamonds in the sky at
first. Eyes like those must belong to some fair
divinity."

" They do, fair student, and to a divinity well
worth worshiping. I have heard it said that men
offer themselves as sacrifices upon her altars."

" Unless my telescope deceives me, I discern a very
handsome sacrifice up there, so I suppose the altar
must be somewhere in the neighborhood."

" Not a hand s breadth beneath her eyes," laughed
the Countess, as she fled precipitately up the steps,
followed by the jesting student."

" Beware of a divinity in wrath," came a sweet,
clear voice from the balcony, and Anguish called
out from his safe retreat, like the boy he was :

" Ah, who s afraid ! "

368 GRAUSTARK

The Princess was laughing softly, her eyes ra
diant as they met those of her companion, amused
yet grave.

" Does he have a care? " she asked.

" I fear not. He loves a Countess."

" He has not to pay the price of ambition, then? "
said she, softly.

" Ambition is the cheapest article in the world,"
he said. " It concerns only a man s self."

XXVIII

THE MAID OF GRAUSTARK

Expectancy, concern, the dread of uncertainty
marked the countenances of Graustark s ministers
and her chief men as they sat in the council chamber
on the day following, awaiting the appearance of
their Princess, at whose call they were unexpectedly
assembled. More than two score eyes glanced ner
vously toward the door from time to time.

All realized an emergency. No sooner were they
out of one dilemma than another cast its prospects
across their path, creating the fear that rejoicing
would be short. While none knew the nature of the
business that called them together, each had a stub
born suspicion that it related to the stirring declara
tions of the day before. Not one in that assembly
but had heard the vivid, soulful sentence from the
throne. Not one but wished in secret as Gaspon and
Halfont had wished in open speech.

When the Princess entered with the prime minis
ter they narrowly scanned the face so dear to them.
Determination and cowardice were blended in the
deep blue eyes, pride and dejection in the firm step,
strength and weakness in the loving smile she be
stowed upon the faithful counsellors. After the

369

370 GRAUSTARK

greetings she requested them to draw chairs about
the great table. Seating herself in her accustomed
seat, she gazed over the circle of anxious faces and
realized, more than at any time in her young life,
that she was frail and weal: beyond all comparison.
How small she was to rule over those strong, wise
men of hers; how feeble the hand that held the
sceptre.

" My lords," she said, summoning all her strength
of mind and heart, " I am gratified to find you so
ready to respond to the call of your whimsical sover
eign. Yesterday you came with hearts bowed down
and in deepest woe. To-day I assemble you here
that I may ask your advice concerning the events of
that strange day. Bolaroz will do as he has prom
ised. We are to have the extension papers this
afternoon, and Graustark may breathe again the
strong, deep breath of hope. You well remember
my attitude on yesterday. You were shocked, horri
fied, amazed by my seemingly ignoble efforts to pre
serve my preserver s life. We will pass over that,
however. It is to discuss my position that I have
called you here. To begin, I would have sacrificed
my kingdom, as you know, to save him. He was in
nocent and I loved him. If, on yesterday, I would
not let my kingdom stand between me and my love,
I cannot do so to-day. I have called you here to
tell you, my lords, that I have promised to become
the wife of the man who would have given his life
for you and for me that I love as a woman, not as
a Princess."

THE MAID OF GRAUSTARK 371

The silence of death stole into the room. Every
man s eyes were glued upon the white face of the
Princess and none could break the spell. They had
expected it, yet the shock was overwhelming; they
had feared it, yet the announcement stupefied them.
She looked straight before her, afraid to meet the
eyes of her subjects, knowing that sickening dis
approval dwelt in them. Not a word was uttered
for many seconds. Then old Caspar s tense muscles
relaxed and his arms dropped limply from their
crossed position on his breast.

" My child, my child ! " he cried, lifelessly. " You
cannot do this thing ! "

" But the people? " cried Gaspon, his eyes gleam
ing. " You cannot act against the will of the people.
Our laws, natural and otherwise, proscribe the very
act you have in mind. The American cannot go
upon our throne; no man, unless he be of royal
blood, can share it with you. If you marry him the
laws of our land you know them well will pro
hibit us from recognizing the marriage."

" Knowing that, my lords, I have come to ask
you to revise our laws. My throne will not be dis
graced by the man I would have share it with me."
She spoke as calmly as if she were making the most
trivial request instead of asking her ministers to
overthrow and undo the laws and customs of ages
and dynasties.

" The law of nature cannot be changed," muttered
Caspar, as if to himself.

" In the event that the custom cannot be changed,

372 GRAUSTARK

I shall be compelled to relinquish my right to oc
cupy the throne and to depart from among you. It
would break my heart, my lords, to resort to this
monstrous sacrifice, but I love one man, first, my
crown and my people after him."

" You would not leave us you would not throw
aside as despised the crown your ancestors wore for
centuries ? " cried Gaspon. " Is Your Royal High
ness mad? "

The others were staring with open mouths and icy
hearts.

" Yes, as much as it would grieve me, I would do
all this," she answered, firmly, not daring to look
at her uncle. She knew his eyes were upon her and
that condemnation lurked in their depths. Her heart
ached to turn to him with a prayer for forgiveness,
but there could be no faltering now.

" I ask you, my lords, to acknowledge the mar
riage of your ruler to Grcnfall Lorry. I am to be
his wife; but I entreat you to grant me happiness
without making me endure the misery that will come
to me if I desert my father s throne and the people
who have worshipped me and to whom I am bound
by a tie that cannot be broken. I do not plead so
much for the right to rule as I do for the one who
may rule after I am gone. I want my own to follow
me on the throne of Graustark."

Then followed a long, animated discussion, grow
ing brighter and more hopeful as the speakers will
ing hearts warmed to the proposition. Lorry was
a favorite, but he could not be their Prince. Heredi-

THE MAID OF GRAUSTARK 378

tary law prohibited. Still his children, if God gave
him children, might be declared rightful heirs to the
throne of their mother, the Princess. The more
they talked, the more the problem seemed to solve
itself. Many times the Princess and her wise men
met and overcame obstacles, huge at first, minimized
in the end, all because they loved her and she loved
them. The departure from traditionary custom, as
suggested by the Princess, coupled with the threat
to abdicate, was the weightiest, yet the most deli
cate question that had ever come before the chief
men of Graustark. It meant the beginning of a
new line of princes, new life, new blood, a complete
transformation of order as it had come down
through the reigns of many Ganlooks. For the first
time in the history of the country a woman was sov
ereign ; for the first time there had been no direct
male heir to the throne. With the death of old
Prince Ganlook the masculine side of the illustrious
family ended. No matter whom his daughter took
for a husband, the line was broken. Why not the
bold, progressive, rich American? argued some.
Others fell in with the views of the few who first
surrendered to the will of Yetive, until at last but
one remained in opposition. Count Caspar held out
until all were against him, giving way finally in a
burst of oratory which ended in tears and sobs, and
which made the sense of the gathering unanimous.

The Princess Yetive won the day, so far as her
own position, was concerned. But, there was Lorry
to be considered.

374 GRAUSTARK

" Mr. Lorry knows that I called you together in
consultation, but he does not know that I would
have given up my crown for him. I dared not tell
him that. He knows only that I was to ask your
advice on the question of marriage, and that alone.
Last night he told me he was confident you would
agree to the union. He is an American, and does
not appreciate the difficulties attending such an es
pousal. Over there distinction exists only in wealth
and intelligence position, I believe they call it, but
not such as ours. He is a strange man, and we have
yet to consult him as to the arrangement, * she said
to her lords, pursing her lips. " I fear he will object
to the plan we have agreed upon," she went on. " He
is sensitive, and it is possible he will not like the
idea of putting our marriage to the popular vote of
the people."

" I insist, however, that the people be considered
in the matter," said Gaspon. " In three months
time the whole nation can say whether it sanctions
the revision of our laws of heredity. It would not be
right or just for us to say who shall be their future
rulers, for all time to come, without consulting them."

" I have no hesitancy in saying that Graustark al
ready idolizes this brave American," said Halfont,
warmly. " He has won her affection. If the ques
tion is placed before the people to-morrow in proper
form, I will vouch for it that the whole nation will
rise and cry : Long live the Princess ! Long live the
Prince Consort ! "

THE MAID OF GRAUSTARK 375

" Going back, I see," said Sitzky, the guard, some
months later, addressing a very busy young man,
who was hurrying down the platform of the Edel
weiss railway station toward the special train w T hich
was puffing impatiently.

"Hello, Sitzky! Is it you? I m glad to see you
again. Yes, we are going back to the land of the
Stars and Stripes." The speaker was Mr. An
guish.

" You ll have fine company s fer as Vienna, too.
D you ever see such celebration s dey re havin here
to-day? You d t ink d whole world was interested
in d little visit Her Royal Highness is goin to pay
to Vienna. Dummed if d whole city, soldiers an
all, ain t down here to see er off. Look at d crowd !
By glory, I don t b lieve we c n pull d train out of d
station. Quainted wid any of d royal crowd? "

" Slightly," answered Anguish, smiling. He was
watching a trim figure in a tailor-made gown as it
approached, drawing apart from the throng. It
was Mrs. Harry Van Brugh Anguish.

" Say, you must cut some ice wid dese people. But
dat s jest like an American, dough," the little guard
went on. " De Princess married an American an
dey say he s goin to put d crown away where d
moths won t git at it an take her over to live in
Washington fer six months. Is it a sure t ing? "

" That s right, Sitzky. She s going back with us
and then we re coming back with her."

" Why don t he keep cr over dere when he gits
her dere? What s d use what s d use? "

876 GRAUSTARK

" Well, she s still the Princess of Graustark, you
know, Sitzky. She can t live always in America."

" Got to be here to hold her job, eh? "

" Inelegant, but correct. Now, look sharp ! Where
de we find our Ah ! " His wife was with him and
he forgot Sitzky.

The guard turned to watch the procession a file
of soldiers, a cavalry troop, carriages and then the
carriage with spirited horses and gay accoutrements.
It stopped with a jangle and a man and woman
descended.

" The Princess ! " cried Sitzky.

" Long live the Princess ! " cried the crowd. " God
save our Yetive ! "

Sitzky started as if shot, staring at the tall man
who approached with the smiling Sovereign of
Graustark. " Well," he gasped, " what d you t ink
o dat ! "

The train that was to carry them out of the East
into the West puffed and snorted, the bell clanged,
the people cheered, and they were off. Hours later,
as the car whirled through the Hungarian plain,
Yetive, looking from her window, said in that ex
quisite English which was her very own :

" Ah, the world, the dear world ! I am so sorry
for queens ! "

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